Absolution
by The Part-Timer
Summary: She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric. Will be continued if the prologue receives feedback.
1. Prologue

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Prologue: A Shameful Choice

_I should have died_.

_Death would be better than this!_

Hinata bowed her head under the cumulative weight of the Hyuuga clan. Tension strung thick and strong in the large, white hall, and only years of decorum training kept Hinata from trembling or crying.

Too much, anyway.

Hiashi Hyuuga's stare on the crown of her head was the worst, though Hanabi's blank one was a close second. Most of the clan were here today, both ninja and civilan, and it pained Hinata to know that she was the shameful cause. She fisted her jacket and swallowed her tears.

Hiashi's stare seemed to burn a little more before it travelled downwards, scrutinising his eldest child. She was a failure from the start. Too gentle, too weak to grow into her future role as the Head of her clan. And now she might not even have to.

"We will vote," he said finally, cutting through the silence like a knife. Everyone stilled. "The council has met, and they have decided on two options: to abort the child, or to disown my daughter Hinata."

Hinata squeezed her eyes shut and prayed she wouldn't cry. The slight swell of her belly stuck out between her clasped hands, concealed by her jacket, but clear as day to the clan's Byakugan eyes. It was a miracle no one noticed for so long. For the umpteenth time, she cursed that fateful mission that had landed her in this mess.

But still, the child was innocent. She couldn't bear to think about ending a life just five months _in utero_ – especially when it was her own (if unwanted) child. She remembered the haunted look of mothers who lost their children; the hungry look of those who could not conceive; and she hesitated to rid her body of the proof of her failure, although it dishonoured her.

Her future, or the child's? She couldn't do it.

"Disown me," she said, in a voice barely above a whisper. It was loud enough. Murmurs travelled through the crowd at the sudden bravery of the weakling heiress. Hiashi's brow furrowed, just a little.

"You cannot vote in this matter, Hinata," he chided. For a moment, she detected a hint of her father underneath the façade of the Head of the Hyuuga clan. He still wanted to save her. Hinata's heart warmed at the thought. Tears pricked her eyes, but she held them back, quaking.

"I'm not. T-the clan doesn't h-have to vote. I'll l-leave." Then, before she could lose her resolve, she looked up to face the entire clan, and bowed deeply.

"From this day onwards, I am no longer a Hyuuga." A painful pause, as she digested the finality of her words. _Don't stutter_, she willed herself. _Don't cry._ "I will move out, and I will not take anything from the clan except my personal belongings."

_Deep breath. Stay bowed_.

"Thank you for taking care of me."

With that, Hinata bowed again, then turned away from the clan of all-seeing eyes and left the hall.

Rough ideas jostled about in her mind as she scrambled for a plan. She wanted to leave as soon as possible, now that she had renounced her family name and her title as heiress. She couldn't bear to see them.

_Pack._ She had to pack, but before that, she had to write her resignation letter and hand it to the Hokage. Hinata fumbled around her desk for some pen and paper numbly. _Dear Hokage_, she started, then dropped the pen. Sobs wracked her body.

Was it the right choice? She rubbed her stomach with a heavy heart. It rumbled, reminding her of her skipped meals, though she'd lost her appetite the moment the council called for an emergency meeting over her condition. Well, it was too late now.

She wrote the letter quickly, then delivered it to the Hokage's office with a _shunshin_ and a brief explanation. Tsunade-sama offered to help her. Hinata allowed herself a spark of hope before she squashed it. She'd been brought up on clan politics: she knew the Hyuuga would not accept Tsunade's order peacefully. So she declined.

She _shunshin_ed straight back to her room, unwilling to go past the Hyuuga guards with their empty stares. It looked just as she had left it: neat and organised, except for her desk. She drank in the sights. Come tonight, this room would be hers no more.

She'd have to travel light. Some clothes, then, for all types of weather, and the basic ninja necessities, and her small savings – nothing more. She allowed herself to cry as she packed, uncaring about those peeping through her walls. She wouldn't see them often after tonight, anyway.

It was evening by the time she was done. Hinata sighed. This was it, then. She bade a silent farewell to her room, and with it the Hyuuga clan, and turned to leave-

-only to run into Hanabi right outside her door. Hinata gave an undignified '_eep_' before she gathered herself and bowed to her younger sister. "Hanabi-cha...sama," she murmured, unaccustomed to the new suffix. Hanabi stared at her.

"You're leaving." Her voice, so young, so flat. It broke Hinata's heart.

"Yes." Hinata looked down, anywhere but at her sister. Hanabi, the talented new heiress of the Hyuuga clan; Hanabi, the little girl who laughed with her for a little while before she grew up into a Hyuuga. Oh, how she'd miss her!

She hated the silence that Hanabi liked. Hanabi must have sensed it, though, for she thrust a bulging waterproof pack at her older sister.

"Food and money," she explained. Hinata, trained in the art of body reading, saw the uncharacteristic shyness that was cracking Hanabi's stoicism, and she smiled.

"Thank you, Hanabi-sama. Be a good girl a-and an even greater c-clan head, o-okay?" _I'll miss you. Take care. _Thoughts flowed through her head, unsaid.

"I will." Hanabi stepped aside to allow Hinata passage. Hinata walked past her, wanting to make her goodbye with her clan as fast as possible before she broke down. She thought she also heard Hanabi say "Goodbye, _onee-sama_", but even if she didn't, Hinata would pretend that she did.

It was her last memory of her family, after all.

* * *

Tsunade-sama must have informed the ninja on gate duty, for they waved her by without unnecessary questioning. Hinata nodded her thanks; she didn't think she'd survive explaining her departure, not so soon.

She didn't have to leave Konoha, per se. She could have stayed in the village and continued being a ninja, as a non-Hyuuga, but it hurt too much to stay in the same place as her former clan. She'd rather leave.

_Leave,_ she thought with wonder. _My eyes!_ She fingered her eyes, and then her forehead. Joy bubbled up, threatening to make her cry again.

_Thank you, otou-san. Byakugan_. The world sharpened around her in vivid detail, courtesy of her _unsealed _bloodline. One less thing to hide, one more piece of freedom gained. In the end, Hiashi had loved his eldest daughter enough to bestow upon her the unsealed gift of the Hyuuga bloodline. Hinata almost couldn't believe it.

She deactivated her Byakugan and started her trek down the path, away from Konoha, away from her life, feeling much happier.

* * *

The path was crowded despite the lateness of the day. She passed genin squads on C-class missions, merchants, travelers, and the occasional ninja flitting across trees, but aside from a small hi and a nod, she had no other interaction. It was overall not a bad day to be travelling, if a little warm. Her clothes were damp with sweat.

Her back also ached from the extra weight in her stomach, and she constantly kneaded them to relieve the tension, with limited results. Since it had yet to become bad enough to hinder her journey, she continued walking. Several jounin of genin squads gave her a critical once-over, deemed her harmless and in no danger, and went on their way, shushing their genin. Hinata blushed when she overheard their conversations.

_"Don't ask questions, keep walking."_

_"But she's so young…."_

_"Hush now, she might hear you."_

Hinata shook her jacket so that it hung further away from her front, ashamed. The slightest suggestion of a curve met her gaze. Fourteen and pregnant, it mocked her. It didn't matter that she was lucky enough to be carrying further back that she hardly showed at five months. It made people talk. She hated that.

She contemplated taking to the trees, where she would be less obvious, then decided against it. The gates of Konoha closed at sunset for everyone except ninja, so she could expect to see less people soon. At least, she hoped so.

Night came sooner than expected, with no village in sight. Disheartened, energy exhausted, Hinata slipped off the path to walk under the cover of darkness while she decided on what to do. It would have been an easy decision if she were with her genin team when they'd just take shifts guarding each other like – a family. Her breath hitched.

They didn't even know she was gone yet. She couldn't tell them, so she chose the coward's way out and let them find out by themselves. Guilt snapped at her heels, but she buried it deep. Shino, Kiba, Kurenai-sensei…they'd understand. Maybe.

For now, she was alone.

The enormity of today's events crashed down on her. She dropped to her knees, heaving with quiet sobs that were drowned by the trees. Her friends , her whole _life_, gone just like that, because she didn't have it in her to kill a single life.

One life for another. It felt terribly unfair, but that was the truth, and she knew it.

She cried for what seemed like hours before her self-control reasserted itself. New, sharp pains made themselves known in her back and in the soles of her feet. She whimpered and massaged them until they felt better, then climbed up a tall tree to sleep in for the night. It didn't feel safe enough without her teammates to guard her, but her perch did afford her a view of the forest floor below and a good bit of the traveller's path yonder. It would have to do.

Nocturnal creatures hummed in the background. Bits of moonlight filtered through the tree leaves that roofed her that night, as though prodding for her existence. She looked up at it, reflecting on her day as she rubbed her belly. It grumbled.

"Ow!" she exclaimed in surprise. She winced when it came again, quick and insistent. She pressed her hand against her stomach, waiting, waiting-_ow_, that hurt. She caressed her stomach in wonder.

There was a life in there.

She was going to have a _child_. It was overwhelming. The baby kicked her again, as if it heard her thoughts.

"I know you're in there," she murmured, stroking her belly. It was so lively for the first time. Was it normal? She didn't know anything about pregnancy, and it scared her.

"Hi there," she tried again. "I'm your mummy –" oh, wow "– so uh…nice meeting you."

Feeling stupid, she leaned back against the tree trunk and stared at the sky.

"W-well I guess it's a nice meeting, t-though today's a bit of a mess and I d-don't really know what to do but," she paused her rambling, breathless, "I'll be taking c-care of you, I think."

The baby didn't reply.

She sighed and curled up to sleep. _I didn't even know I was pregnant_, was her final, miserable thought before sleep dragged her under.

-Prologue: End.

Yes, Hinata found out the same time everyone else did. More on that later.

I haven't been on Fanfiction for a while, so I thought I'd try my hand at writing again. If it receives good feedback I'll continue updating every fortnight.

So, review people! Tell me what you think!


	2. 1: To Save a Life

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter 1: To Save a Life

She travelled in a pattern for the next few days: wake up, walk or run, sleep. Rinse and repeat. Each day took her further and further away from Konoha. She wasn't sure if that made her happy or sad.

She'd left the lush forests behind. The trees in this area were thinner and sparser, with limbs that reached for the sky, but the leafy canopy still provided enough shade for her to travel out of the glare of the sun. The smell of the air was different here, too: it was hotter, and a little salty.

She looked around. Even with her Byakugan, she saw nothing but a thinning forest that was beginning to flourish after a cold spell. She deactivated her bloodline limit and jumped to the ground. It was noon, and she was hungry.

She ate the last of Hanabi's onigiri quietly, thinking of home. Her team should know by now. Kiba would probably snarl and attack in denial. Kurenai would be guilty for not protecting her enough. Shino would be stoic, as always. She would have been surprised if they reacted otherwise.

Her father…no, Hyuuga-sama. Hanabi. How were they faring? Did they manage to run damage control in time to save the Hyuuga name? It was possible that Hanabi's instatement as heir would hide the disappearance of her sister, at least enough for the news of her disgrace to die within the clan compound. She would be forgotten soon enough.

She huffed as she started to walk along the path, keeping to the edges to stay in the short shadows of the trees. Two days had passed since she last slept in a bed, and she intended to reach a village by nightfall to get a good, long rest. Her body was protesting her prolonged travel quite painfully.

"Hinata-sama."

She tripped. Her heart stopped. "N-Neji, kun," she choked out. "W-W-What are you d-doing here?"

Neji frowned and crossed his arms. _He looks just like father_, she thought detachedly. Lead lumped in her chest. At sixteen, Neji was tall and lithe, fast growing into the most promising jounin of their generation. There were even talks of inviting him into ANBU once he gained enough field experience. He was the pride of the Hyuuga, a symbol of hope for the Branch clan members. She was proud of her cousin. Really.

_But I don't want to see him!_ She clasped her fingers and trembled under Neji's stare. His teammates she sensed in the periphery, hidden in the trees while Neji faced her.

"I should be asking you that," Neji said. Hinata bowed her head lower. _He doesn't know_. She recalled him leaving the compound a week before her disownment to go on a mission with his two teammates. It seemed that no one had bothered to contact him about the news. She couldn't tell him.

"M-my t-teammates are," she licked her lips, testing out the white lie, "my teammates are h-here. For a mission. I'm s-scouting." The lie was weak and sour on her tongue.

Hyuuga were good at detecting lies. It was in their nature to notice and analyse minute details, for the Hyuuga were visual fighters, used to their sight-enhancing Byakugan. Neji was better than most ninja his age, one of the best Byakugan users at home. But Neji's Byakugan was not activated, and Hinata was always acting nervous, so she slipped under his radar.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Neji uncrossed his arms. "You should be more careful, Hinata-sama," he said. "They still want us, and you're too far from Konoha to get help if they come for you." _They_, she knew, were Kumo-nin, who prized their bloodline limit and tried to kidnap her for it. They were foiled by her father, that first time. There would be no protection for her now.

"Yes, Neji-kun," she murmured. "I-I'll be careful."

"Hn." He signaled to his teammates and turned to leave. Lee dropped from a nearby tree.

"YOSH! I will escort Neji's cousin to her teammates safely, or else I will do a hundred laps around Konoha, ON MY HANDS!"

Lee posed, thumbs up, against the biggest, brightest sunset she had ever seen. Were his teeth _sparkling? _Poor Hinata almost fainted.

Neji smacked Lee's head. The image burst as Lee cried out and glared at his jounin captain. "That is MOST unyouthful of you, Neji-kun! How could you ruin the Springtime of Youth…!"

Neji heaved a long-suffering sigh.

"Lee," Neji ground out, "that was the signal for 'Leave'." He demonstrated the signal for Lee to see. "It means we leave right now, without interruption, and without you breaking our formation. Is that understood?"

"YES! And if I don't, I will do three hundred crunches and five hundred push-ups on…!"

Hinata watched, fascinated, as her cousin hooked his arm around Lee's throat and proceeded to drag him backwards to Konoha. Tenten grinned and waved as she followed them.

"Don't worry, they're always like this," she told Hinata. "Good luck on your mission!"

"Miss-? Ah, o-kay," Hinata stammered. She watched as the trio took to the trees, with Neji leading, until she could no longer hear the soft rush of leaves that indicated they were there. She clenched her fists.

Neji would know about her by tomorrow, when he reached Konoha. Their relationship had improved over the years; it was possible that he might try to track her down, if only to demand answers.

She intended to be long gone by then.

With that in mind, she slipped into the forest to run, unseen, across the trees.

* * *

Hinata was sore and tired by the time she reached the village, just an hour short of sundown. It was a small farmer's village, with a few houses fronting swathes of cultivated land. The roads were already deserted as families prepared to settle down for the night. She thought of her family wistfully, then thrust it aside. It was pointless to dwell on the past.

The village was small enough that its shops didn't have signboards. Almost all of the shops, it seemed, had been passed down several generations, so everyone knew where which shop stood, even without the signboards. It was very confusing.

She knocked on a few wrong doors and backtracked from several dead-ends before she finally reached the only inn in the village. The innkeeper, an old man with a hunched back and huge glasses, peered at her from the counter.

"Can I help you, lassie?" he asked. He eyed the little girl at his door. She was quite a sight, with travel-worn clothes and ringed, blank eyes, and a backpack slung over her arm. Like a nervous mouse, he thought, and young, too. She tugged her jacket away from her front as he watched.

"I would like to stay for a night, please," she said, squirming. She dug around in her pockets and came up with several folded notes. "Just one room."

"I have one free." He peered at her face. "It's not often I see a young lass like you come here at the brink of night, I'll tell ya that. Where're you from?"

"I-I've been travelling," she replied. It was half-true. She just didn't know where to go. "I saw this village on the map, s-so I thought of staying here for a night. If that's o-okay with you, of course."

He waved her doubts away. "It's business, lass. If I have a room, I'll rent you it, and I have one. So come on in and have some dinner." He gave her another once over. "You look like you can do with a good meal," he grunted, limping into the kitchen.

"T-thanks."

Hinata blushed as she sat down at a table. Her back ached with relief as she sank into the cushioned back of her chair. She kneaded them to relieve some tension, wincing when she pressed on several tight knots. The softness of the chair was heaven to her overworked body. Overhead, the lamp swung with every puff of the wind, spilling yellow light as it went. There was another customer with her, a plump man in labourer's clothes chugging on a beer, but as he paid her no mind, she kept quiet.

Soon, sweet, hot smells entered the room, and her stomach grumbled impatiently. She pressed a hand to it, embarrassed. Her normal portions no longer seemed enough to sustain her between meals. While she understood now that it was because of the baby, it still worried her. She was a young, unmarried girl, with no family and few skills, and her finances were limited.

Her belly gurgled, then bulged when the baby kicked under her hand. She rubbed her stomach. _Dinner's coming,_ she thought at it. _Just a while longer, little one._

"I hope chicken stew and rice is okay with ya," the innkeeper said, balancing the food on a tray. Hinata stood to help him. He waved her off and started setting the table.

"Been doing this for years, lassie, now you sit down and eat!" His words were sharp but kind. "Hurry up, now."

"Thank you," she said. She looked at the meal before her: a bowl of stew with a few lumps of chicken and vegetables, and a bowl of rice. It was poor fare compared to the luxuries of the Hyuuga household…but no less delicious, she realised, as she sipped at the stew. She had to restrain herself from eating too fast. The innkeeper watched her eat with a grin.

"There's more where that came from. It's on the house," he offered. Hinata stuttered her thanks and offered her empty bowl to him, cheeks red. He came back with her second helping, which she ate at a more polite pace. She felt warm and bloated when she was done, and the innkeeper couldn't be happier.

"Thank you," she said again.

"Think nothing of it. Come, follow me upstairs and I'll show you your room. You must be tired."

She followed him up a flight of rickety stairs and down a corridor, where he pointed at a door at the far right. "I'll be right back, just getting some blankets for ya," he said as he disappeared behind a pair of flaps.

"A-ano," she tried, but he was gone. Sighing, she continued down the corridor, struggling to not drag her feet. A bed would be welcome tonight.

"Ah, no no, not that door!" the innkeeper called from behind her. Hinata started and released the door knob, apologising. The door creaked open a crack. She blinked at the smell inside.

"That's my missus in there," he said gruffly. "Been sick for a while. I'll see to her once you're settled in your room." He spoke loud enough for his wife to hear him. "Won't be long," he told them both.

"A-ano, if you don't mind, I t-think I can help her." Hinata's nose smarted from the smell of sickness in the room, but she ignored it. "I'm f-familiar with herbs."

"Are ya, now?" The innkeeper looked at her, clearly seeing a teenage girl who was too young to be wandering around on her own. His expression was tinged with doubt.

"Y-yes. My mother taught me." She nudged the door open wider and bowed at the bed-ridden woman sweating under her blanket. A pot of water stood by her bed, half empty, along with a cup and a vase of flowers. The innkeeper's wife smiled at her and tried to get up.

"Lie back down," the innkeeper urged her. Turning to Hinata, he said, "She has a fever. At first we thought it would break by itself, but it's been three days and nothing's improved." He cast a worried glance at his wife.

"I'll see what I can do," Hinata assured him. She approached the bed. The woman's hands were folded over her blanket. Hinata took her right hand, returned her smile, and felt for her heartbeat. Her short year as a medic-nin in training came back to her, calming her, coaching her. The woman's heartbeat was off, that was for sure. She glanced at her face.

Feverish eyes, sunk into their sockets with sickness and age, held her gaze. Hinata frowned. The look was familiar. She'd treated this before. Confidence bubbled beneath her fingers.

"Um," she cleared her throat to catch the woman's attention, "Um, d-did you injure yourself recently? Enough to d-draw b-blood?" The woman contemplated her question, then nodded.

"I think so," she said, voice raspy from disuse. "Scraped my shoulder a week ago when collecting firewood."

"Please show it to me," Hinata said. If it was what she suspected it to be, she could heal it right away without herbs. Medical ninjutsu would be more effective. The woman unbuttoned the first two buttons of her blouse and offered her left shoulder to Hinata.

Hinata analysed the wound for a few seconds, then nodded. "I-I know what this is. Your w-wound's infected. I can h-help." She looked at the woman, hesitating. "Are you okay with iryou-ninjutsu, oba-san?"

"You're a ninja!" the innkeeper exclaimed beside her. "But you're so young!"

"A-aah, no, not r-really," Hinata replied. "I-I've learned to h-heal from the h-hospital, that's all." Turning to his wife, she repeated her question. "I'll only do this if you want me to. There are h-herbs that will work as well," she said.

The woman took the surprise better than her husband, or so it seemed to Hinata. She smiled and leaned back against her pillow. "Just do it, child. Thanks."

"O-okay." Concentrating, Hinata palmed the injury. Her hand glowed green. She huffed and frowned. The wound cleansed itself then began to close under her hand, until it was nothing more than a raw pink line.

Hinata released her Shousen technique and sucked in a greedy gulp of air. It was done. She wiped the sweat off her brow as the innkeeper and his wife marveled over her work.

"I didn't know you ninja could do tha'," the innkeeper said, whistling under his breath. "It's amazing."

Hinata shook her head. "I-It's nothing much, really," she said, shaking away her fatigue. The Shousen drained her pitiful chakra reserves; she didn't have Haruno Sakura's precise control to conserve her chakra as well as she did. Her days of running across the trees with chakra didn't help either.

"Rest well tonight, and you should be feeling better tomorrow," she said to the woman. The woman nodded gratefully.

"How should we pay you?" she asked.

"A-no, it isn't n-necessary. I'm glad I could help."

"You're a kind one," the innkeeper said, smiling. "Come now, I'll show you to your room. You look tired." He carried her backpack for her, for which Hinata was thankful.

"You must stay until I cook you a meal," his wife said. She stayed in bed, but already she looked much healthier. "Consider it my thanks."

"I will," Hinata replied. "Goodnight, oba-san."

That night, she fell asleep with a contented heart and a smile on her face.

* * *

It was raining when she awoke. Yawning, Hinata completed her daily ablutions then left her room to visit the innkeeper's wife.

The door was ajar when she reached. She knocked on the door. The woman was already awake and was making her bed. She smiled when she saw Hinata.

"You're an early riser," she remarked. She tossed her fluffed pillow to the head of the bed. "Come, I make you breakfast."

"Y-You don't really have t-to, oba-san," Hinata protested. The woman clicked her tongue and pulled her to the dining table.

"Breakfast, and you sit here till I'm done, you hear me, lassie?" She winked at Hinata then disappeared behind the kitchen flap. Hinata sighed and smiled.

It felt nice to be doted on, after so long. She rested her head on her arms. Sunlight, warm and bright, shone into the room, bathing her in drowsiness.

The innkeeper's wife came out in no time at all. She laid breakfast on the table and shook Hinata awake. "Breakfast's ready," she told her with a grin that belied her tomboy days. She passed a plate to Hinata then sat down opposite her.

"Itadakimasu," Hinata said, and dug into a breakfast of salad with quail eggs. The innkeeper's wife watched her taste the food, her own plate still empty.

"How is it?" she asked.

Hinata hurried to swallow her food before she answered, "It's delicious, thank you."

The woman grinned again, and Hinata couldn't help but smile back. They polished off the breakfast in silence, although Hinata was mortified to note that she'd eaten more than half her share. She'd been so _hungry_.

"I'm glad you enjoyed breakfast," the innkeeper's wife said around a mouthful of greens. Hinata fingered her morning cup of tea and nodded her thanks. "Enough for your baby? How far along are you?"

Hinata choked. Her cup crashed to the floor.

"Oh dear, I didn't mean to shock you," the woman exclaimed in distress. She shooed Hinata's half-hearted attempts at picking up the cup. It was unbroken. The innkeeper's wife set it down on the table then walked round to rub Hinata's shoulders. Hinata, still reeling from shock, did not stop her.

"How…how did you know?" she whispered. She gripped the edges of her chair tight, feeling faint. The innkeeper's wife squeezed her shoulders to comfort her.

"I've had four children, myself. Of course I'd know. Congratulations." She peered at Hinata's pale face in concern. "Or maybe not?"

_Of course not!_

Hinata couldn't breathe. Her secret was out. Just like that. How did the baby ever hide from all those Byakugan eyes, if one civilian could find out so fast? How?

Her vision scrambled as she lost her purchase on her seat.

"Oi, breathe!" someone snapped at her. She obeyed and took a deep breath. And another. And another, until she was heaving with sobs when she didn't even know she'd started crying. Someone rubbed circles in her back soothingly.

"You never dealt with this properly, did you?" the innkeeper's wife murmured. "There, there, calm down. This ain't good for the babe."

Hinata hiccupped, nodded, and tried to swallow her tears. It was hard. The dam had just broken, her self-control in pieces, but she managed to stop crying after a bit. She panted with unspent tears and leaned back in her seat, drained.

"Good girl," the innkeeper's wife praised, though Hinata could see her questioning eyes. "Come now, I'll help you clean up. There's a dear."

"F-five months," Hinata muttered under her breath. The woman squeezed her shoulders again. "Maybe a-almost s-s-six. I d-don't know."

_So young_, she could see those eyes say. She looked away, ashamed.

"I won't tell anyone," the woman assured her. Hinata's head shot up in surprise. "What? I won't tell. I hate gossip, eh?"

Her eyes travelled down to Hinata's stomach. "You're a bit small, and you're probably carrying further back, too," she speculated. "Has it started kicking?"

Hinata nodded, too tired to speak.

"It should be fine, then," the woman said, satisfied. She gave Hinata's head a smart pat. "Run along now, clean up. My husband should be here soon."

Nodding, Hinata scurried away from the dining table, her thoughts whirling. She took off for her room as fast as her legs would take her. Once inside, she hugged the pillow, buried her head in it, and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Hinata had many bad memories. They tended to relive themselves in her dreams, something which distressed her when she was younger, although she had learned to shelve the nightmares in the mind when she awoke. Her mother's death and her family's rejection, for example, had been dealt with for years and hardly hurt her.

_This_ memory, however, still stung whenever it came back. Hinata brushed away her sweat and tears shakily. Her muscles were cramping from constant tension and phantom pains throughout her dream. Wincing, she made her way out of bed to make herself presentable.

The rush of clear water from the bathroom tap calmed her nerves. She washed her face, then looked up at the mirror. Her large, pupil-less eyes were good for hiding tears, as long as her eyelids weren't puffy – and they weren't, she noted with relief. She ran a wet hand through her hair to tame it.

The inn was noisier than it had been last night. There were villagers in the dining area – regulars, if their casualness with the innkeeper was any indication – and most of them were eating. Lunchtime, then. The innkeeper was busy limping in and out of the kitchen. A constant sizzling sound in the kitchen told her where his wife was.

The innkeeper grinned when he saw her. "Lunchtime's always busy!" he yelled at her over the din. "Want some?"

"M-Maybe later!" She glanced at the dining tables and blushed, remembering her breakdown in the morning. "I-I'll be going o-out for a while!"

"Careful! Bye!"

She nodded at the innkeeper then left the establishment. A quick scan with her Byakugan revealed a river not far to her left. She headed for that, threading her way upriver. The river seemed to be the main source of water for the village, used for everything from irrigation to drinking. It wound through several fields before entering a grove of trees.

The land here was the highest point for miles around. The river ended in the middle of the grove, where it spouted off from a small pond. A deep pond, she realised, when she peered over the edge and noticed the darkness of the water. She dipped her hand into the water and began to play with it, first with her fingers, then with simple Suiton jutsu.

Tendrils of water danced and twirled at her command. More and more elaborate they became as she grew engrossed, sitting on a rock, frowning in concentration. The water was so disturbed that she never noticed a growing number of bubbles breaking the surface.

She was, therefore, caught by surprise when one large eye zoomed in front of her, just under the water.

She shrieked – and was promptly dragged underwater.

The coldness of the water numbed her skin. She gasped, swallowed a mouthful of water, then swirled round to face her captor. The world above her grew darker as she sank deeper into the pool.

_Byakugan!_ Veins bulged around her eyes. Her watery surroundings sharpened.

There was nothing. No monster, no hunter-nin, no…then she saw it. The floating corpse of a boy, several feet below her. He wasn't moving.

She stared at him for a moment, then swam towards him and proceeded to pull him to the surface with her. Dead or not, he did not deserve to be abandoned in a watery grave. A mouthful of bubbles escaped her mouth as she struggled to swim.

Somehow, she broke out of the water, gasping and spluttering, still pulling the deadweight with her. She deposited the body on the rock next to her as she crouched, shivering, to recover from her shock.

When she had calmed down, she crawled over to the body to examine it. The boy had not been dead long, she noted, judging by the freshly bleeding wounds on the boy's chest and arms. His leg had been broken in several places. A concussion, too, if the large head wound was anything to go by.

She wrung as much water out of her clothes as she could, still watching it. A Suiton jutsu evaporated whatever moisture she couldn't wring. She wondered what to do with the corpse. Whose son was he? Would they be searching for him? Probably, she conceded, analysing the body. Blood trickled off him onto the rock below.

Then, under her surprised stare, the body shuddered, convulsed, and expelled a mouthful of water. The boy's chest heaved. He was alive!

Hinata scrambled to straddle him between her knees to perform CPR. The boy coughed up several more mouthfuls of water before the blue tinge left his lips. Finally, after a small eternity, he opened his eyes.

He groaned. "Who…are you…?" he rasped, wincing when his breathing jolted his injuries. Hinata got off his body carefully, apologetic.

"D-do you know where you are?" she asked him.

He opened his eyes, squinted. "No. Wait…yes. Near Mizu?" He groaned again when rays of sunlight cut into his eyes. "Shit," he cursed. He tried to get up, but his body only gave a great shudder and budged not an inch.

"Shit," he said. He looked at Hinata tiredly. "Any chance…you could…help me up?" He gestured with his less injured hand. "As you can see, I can't…really move."

Hinata regarded him with her Byakugan. He was in bad shape. More than half his ribs were cracked, and his stomach was bleeding internally. His chakra coils were huge, but damaged. Several major tenketsu had been closed – sealed – so he could not access his chakra. Tension seeped away from her body.

"I-I'm going to dry you," she told him, forming the seals for her evaporating Suiton jutsu. He nodded, and sighed when his waterlogged clothes dried in a gush of steam.

"Nin…ja?" he said. "Help?"

She shook her head, then stopped herself. Could she really abandon the boy here? Her hand twitched towards her stomach.

"O-okay," she said. "There's a v-village half an hour's w-walk from here. C-can you make it?"

His brief, barking laughter caught her off guard.

"I can't…even…stand. Leg…broken," he said. He was grinning despite the pain that shone in his eyes. "Shunshin?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I c-can do that," she said. She came closer and held his shoulders. "T-The landing m-might hurt."

"I…kn-_nngh_!" His words were snatched away from him as he landed, painfully, on his back beside her. Hinata looked around in relief; they had made it to the inn. "Warning…would be…nice," he panted at her.

"I-I'm sorry!" she cried. She hooked her arms below him. "I-I will put you in m-my bed. This will hurt," she warned. She waited for his resigned nod before she lifted him onto her bed. He didn't make a sound, but the sudden whiteness of his face spoke volumes. She eyed his ribs worriedly.

"Y-you need a d-doctor."

He grinned at her, eyes closed. "Iryou-nin. Hard…to find…doesn't matter…."

Oh, that was it. Her resolve strengthened. Whatever doubts she had about the stranger vanished when he relaxed on the bed and prepared to die. Her hand glowed green with Shousen.

His eyes snapped open and he hissed when she touched his ribcage. A spark of recognition lit in his eyes at the sight of the green glow.

"Heh…lucky…" he paled when the first rib cracked into place "…thanks…in advance."

"Sleep," she whispered. "I-I'll try my best."

With a final sigh, he did just that.

She worked on his ribs first, then started on his lungs. They were punctured in several places, one close to the heart. She hesitated. Healing internal organs was not an easy task. One mistake, and he could die. She scanned his lungs with her Byakugan. Blood pooled within them. They were beginning to swell with inflammation; she had to fix them, and fast.

With a scared breath, Hinata pressed her hand onto his ribs and began fixing his lungs. The holes closed, the swelling ceased. Sweat dotted her brow as she pushed her chakra limits as much as she dared.

When it was over, she crumpled onto the floor, shaking. She'd done it. She'd _done it_, the danger was gone, and somehow she didn't screw up. She watched her patient nervously. His breaths still rattled…ah. She rummaged in her bag for her bottle of smelling salts and waved it under his nose.

His nose twitched. He frowned, then awoke with a string of curses.

"Wha…you…" He got no further. A pained expression crossed his face as he leaned over the side of the bed and started to cough.

Mouthfuls of blood rained down on Hinata's conveniently placed towel. She placed a glowing hand on his back, guiding blood up his throat for him to vomit. After five minutes, his coughing stopped and he fell back, exhausted, on the bed.

"I feel like shit," he groaned, panting from the effort. He winced when his heavy breathing reopened a wound on his stomach, but otherwise stayed still.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata whispered. "I h-haven't l-learned how to s-siphon blood o-out of the b-body yet." She wrung her hands in her lap.

"Maa, don't worry about it. We all gotta start somewhere." He closed his eyes. Hinata noted with relief that his voice and breaths were stable.

"T-this is all I c-can do, for now," she informed him apologetically. "I'm out of c-chakra."

"It's enough for now," he said. "I'm Rei."

"H-Hinata."

"Well, H-Hinata," he teased, "get some rest. I promise I won't die on you."

Hinata _eep_-ed and started to protest, but the boy had fallen unconscious. Sighing, she threw away her bloody towel then fell onto a chair, her vision swimming.

_Just five minutes_, she thought to herself, as she curled up against the back of her chair.

Soon, she was fast asleep.

- Chapter 1: End.

Special thanks to **mac2** and **The Lost Canuck** for reviewing the prologue!

Reviews and constructive criticism will be much appreciated.


	3. 2: A New Job

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter 2: A New Job

Her back was aching up a storm. That was the first thing Hinata noticed right after opening her eyes because gosh, it felt like she would never stand up straight again. She stretched, yawned, then checked up on the boy – Rei.

The brown blanket was black with blood, and he was still too pale to be healthy, but he was sleeping well, at least. She smiled in relief. She'd work on him again later.

She made her way down to the dining area, where the innkeeper was busy clearing away dishes. A quick glance outside told her the time. "Good evening," she said.

"Whoa, whoa!" He turned round, surprised. "Since when didja get back here?"

"A-A few hours ago," she replied. It was probably true, not that she knew for sure. "Ano, i-is there anything l-left for dinner?"

"Yeah, we left some for ya. Wait up and I'll go get it."

"T-thanks. Oh!" Hinata passed several bank notes to him. "I-I'll be s-staying here a f-few more days. M-my friend's h-hurt so I'll heal him first."

He accepted the money with a grunt. "You're a kind one," he said. She blushed and looked down. "One room or two?"

Hinata hesitated. Her funds were dwindling, but she couldn't bring herself to share a room with a guy who was little more than a stranger…even if she did save his life. The innkeeper's lips thinned.

"Two rooms, then," he said. She bit her lip and nodded. "But your friend'll be payin' his own rent, otherwise that's a damn ungrateful brat you've got right there who deserves a spankin'!"

"Ah…a-ano, it's o-okay-"

He winked at her. "Just pullin' your leg there, lassie. Sit down while I get you some food. Your friend want some?"

She lowered herself gingerly onto a chair. "S-Something easy to swallow, maybe? Thank you."

"Nah, think nothin' bout it." He shuffled away, leaving her alone at the table to drown in her musings. She ate her meal in silence. When she was done the innkeeper came out of the kitchen with a bowl of soup and a portion of bread – "For your friend," he said – which she brought up to her room for when Rei woke up.

She checked for a fever. Thankfully, his temperature was normal, though he was sweating a little. She managed to heal a nasty gash on Rei's stomach before he grabbed her hand.

"Oh!" she squeaked. Her Shousen sputtered and died. "R-Rei-san, you're awake."

He grimaced and let go of her hand. "Sorry, reflex." She shook her head; it was a normal reaction for ninja, so she bore him no grudge. He ran a hand through his hair with a sheepish smile.

"A-Ah, you probably s-shouldn't be doing that," Hinata chastised. "Y-Your arm injury's still open."

He stared at his injury. "So it is," he remarked. He sounded surprised, for some reason. He flexed his fingers, found them functional, and shrugged. "No matter. Is that soup I smell?"

"Yes. S-Shall I feed you?"

"What! No, I can feed myself. Thanks," he added, seeing her wide-eyed shock. "Gee, you get scared pretty easily, huh?"

Her cheeks reddened. She passed him the bowl quietly then sat at his bedside, twiddling her fingers. _Weak_, she thought he meant. _Scaredy-cat._

"Hey, no need to look so down…ah, damn it," he muttered. His spoon clunked back into the bowl. He picked it up again.

"Y-Your hands are shaking," Hinata murmured. She took the bowl from him and offered him a spoonful of soup. "Here, I'll f-feed you."

"I need my manly pride!" he complained, but his eyes twinkled with mirth. He slurped the soup hungrily. When he was done, Hinata carried the empty bowl downstairs to the kitchen then ventured out the back door.

The day was growing dimmer, but she could still make out the pile of firewood stacked against the wall. An axe was stuck in a tree stump a few feet away. With an effort, she pulled it out of the stump and positioned a thick, straight piece of wood in the middle of it.

The wood split in half in just two strikes. She repeated the move with a few more pieces of wood until she had a dozen. Satisfied, she cut down a sapling and whittled away its leaves and branches. Then she got some rope and cloth from the innkeeper's wife, who was more than happy to provide her the items once she knew what they were for.

"Do you need help?" she asked. Hinata declined and went upstairs.

Rei's inquisitive look dropped on her the moment she entered. "Are those for me?" he asked, eyeing the armful of wood she carried. She dropped them onto the floor beside him and nodded.

"Splints for your leg," she said. "M-My iryou-ninjutsu is basic, so y-you'll have to use these f-for a while. I'm s-sorry!"

"Aww c'mon, don't cry. I dunno what to do when girls cry," he said awkwardly. He reached out to pat her shoulder and winced when he jolted his broken leg.

"I-I'm not crying," she sniffled. Why _did_ she cry in the first place? Embarrassed, she busied herself strapping the firewood together to splint his leg. Rei splinted his thighs himself; his sure hands spoke of a familiarity with the moves that left her a little curious.

She began healing his arms while he worked. They had scabbed over and were shallower than the injuries on his stomach, so she finished before she felt exhausted. Now only his leg was left untreated, sans the splints. She bit her lip. Could she do it?

"Hey," Rei said, half-mumbling. His eyes were already drooping in sleep. "You don't really have to fix my leg, you know. It'll heal itself." He yawned. "You've done enough."

_I'm not good enough._ She pulled the blanket up to cover him in silence.

"Hey," he said again, one eye cracking open to see her. "Thanks. For saving me, that is. I'd have died without you."

"I-I didn't do much," she said, but he was already asleep. She exhaled and left for her new room, right next to his.

* * *

He was up and about the next day, using the sapling she'd cut as a crutch. Hinata got the fright of her life when he thumped, quite ungracefully, across her room in the morning.

"You – but – I locked the door!" she exclaimed. Frantic fingers combed her sleep-frazzled hair as she glared at him. "I'm – I'm a _girl_!"

"And I'm a boy," he said, as if he didn't know what the difference meant. He limped over to her bedside and nudged her legs over to sit down in a corner. Goosebumps broke all over Hinata's skin and she curled up, putting a distance between them.

"G-good morning," she huffed, though she didn't feel like it was a very good morning. He'd unlocked her door and walked in like he owned the place! Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"Y'know, I forgot to ask you this," he said, forgetting to reply her greeting (a little rude, she thought), "but where am I exactly?"

"At a village inn," she said. "I'm s-staying here, and I d-didn't know where else to bring you."

"Maa, anywhere's fine." He flexed his fingers, testing his dexterity. He frowned. "Looks like I'll be staying here a while. You?"

"I…what?" Caught off-guard, her words stumbled off her tongue and got stuck. She ducked her head.

"Stay with me?" he asked instead. Hinata would have been terrified if not for the fact that he didn't mean it _that_ way.

"I-I'll be leaving soon…" she said warily. Rei's shoulders drooped.

"Really? Then I guess I'll leave with you."

"Wh-What! You're sick!"

"I'm injured, not sick. And I've nowhere to go, so."

Okay, he was one creepy guy. "What about your f-family?" she tried.

"Dead." Clipped, disarming. "No condolences, please. Anyway, I'm stuck with you!"

She'd rather be stuck with the baby in her gut than him. Even if she didn't really have a choice in that matter. Rei took her silence as agreement and clapped his hands.

"Right, so where're we headed?" He grinned at her, causing her to back up against the wall. It really wasn't funny.

"_We_ are not going anywhere," she said firmly. "_You_ are going to stay here until you're well, and _I_ am going to leave when I feel like it." There, no stutters. She stared right at him, knowing how her pupil-less eyes made a very disturbing impression on most.

Her stare slipped past him like water off his back. "No," he said. Was he _pouting_? "Since I've nothing to do and nowhere to go, I'll stick with you."

This was fast becoming the worst waking nightmare she ever had. And no, his boyish grin was not making the mood any lighter. She swung her feet off the bed and made for the door.

"I-I'll go get breakfast. It's downstairs." To her horror, Rei got up to tag along.

"I'll come with you, I can walk." _I'm regretting making him that crutch_, Hinata thought to herself. Sure, he was a little unsteady on his feet – foot? – but he could limp around and now she had a stalker on her hands.

She half-jogged, half-ran to the dining area, where the innkeeper's wife was sitting, reading the newspaper. She looked up at the loud clatter Rei was making coming down the stairs.

"Good morning," she said. She inclined her head at the stairs. "Your friend?"

"In a way," Hinata replied. She sneaked a quick glance at Rei. "W-what's for breakfast?"

"I'll go get it," she said, and disappeared into the kitchen. Hinata watched her go forlornly. Rei limped over to the vacated chair with a sigh.

"You walked so fast," he grumbled. He shifted around in his seat. "You know, I never got to know your name. I'm Rei."

Ah, he didn't remember her name last night. She sighed. That, at least, was normal.

"Hinata," she said. Neither bothered with family names. A pregnant pause dropped between them. Rei steepled his fingers and tapped his foot.

"So…where are you headed? Seriously, now."

_I wouldn't tell you even if I knew!_ "S-Somewhere, Rei-san."

"Why don't you come with me? I'm heading east to Mizu no Kuni, the weather's great there at this time of the year."

He didn't seem capable of heading anywhere the last time she checked, but she held her tongue.

"N-No thanks," Hinata said. "I'll leave t-tomorrow."

"And you'll leave me here to die? I can't even walk!" He gestured at his splinted leg. "I'd die of boredom! I'll be in debt if I stay here, 'cuz I don't have money to stay that long! I'd be sentenced to servitude forever!"

He gave her the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster. She looked away, struggled, then folded.

"Fine," she mumbled in defeat. "We stay h-here till you can walk, then I'll s-send you to Mizu." Well, at least now she had a destination in mind. And a travelling partner, too.

"Hooray, Hinata-chan!" he cheered. Her cheeks burned. Hinata-_chan_?

"I-I'll need to g-get a job," she said, fidgeting. "I c-can't support us b-both so long."

"Who's getting a job?" The innkeeper's wife said, appearing from the kitchen with a tray of goods. "You, lassie?"

Hinata dodged the woman's purposeful look and nodded. "J-Just until he gets well," she said. "A f-few weeks?" Sooner, if she could heal his leg, but she lacked the expertise to do it. More's the pity.

The innkeeper's wife pursed her lips, but did not argue with her. "Well, if it's a job you're looking for, you can always help out here," she said, considering, as she set the dishes. "It's off-peak season so we can spare your two rooms. Meals and lodgings in return for work, how's that sound?"

Hinata and Rei exchanged glances. "I-It's great, thank you," Hinata said, resigned to her fate.

"But what about you?" The woman asked Rei. "Working too?" She had every intention of giving him a tongue lashing if he let a pregnant girl do all the work, whether he knew about it or not. Rei looked at her indignantly.

"I can still work. I'll pay for my own stuff!"

The innkeeper's wife nodded. "I'm sure we'll find some work for you. Eat up, now, you two must be hungry."

Hinata helped herself to a portion, mulling over her next course of action. The inn wasn't a bad place to stay, and the people were friendly, its patrons regulars who hadn't troubled her at all. She could grow to like this place.

"So, it looks like we'll be working together, yeah?" Rei said, grinning. His words doused her straying thoughts and she winced at the proposition.

"It would s-seem so, Rei-san," she said.

"Oh, by the way." A playful glint lit up his eyes. "I'll smack you every time you stutter," he warned.

"H-huh?"

_Smack!_

Hinata gasped. He'd _smacked_ her! For real!

The next few weeks would be very, very interesting.

- Chapter 2: End.

I noticed fewer people read the previous chapter. Was it too long?

Do tell. I like receiving feedback for my stories.

Special thanks to **Duesal10** for the reviews for both chapters.


	4. 3: A Revelationof Sorts

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter 3: Time to Say Goodbye

Rei's manners, Hinata found out, were horrible.

They weren't as bad as, say, Nara Shikamaru's, who was more lazy than anything, or Chouji's, despite his constant eating. They were more on par with Kiba's, whose feral clan was the antithesis of politeness, or Naruto's, she supposed, since the boy had no one to teach him. It made her wonder about Rei's upbringing. At least he was a fast learner.

No one could fault Rei's ability to adapt to the situation – he'd done well, considering his broken leg, she thought. He'd gotten used to the makeshift crutch and moved around as fast as her, cheerily serving the patrons of the inn at mealtimes and clearing away the dishes when they left, and collecting firewood nearby. Hinata stayed in the kitchen with the innkeeper's wife and helped cook and wash. On her time off, she tended to the patch of herbs that she cultivated in the inn's backyard. It had been, overall, quite a peaceful few weeks, and she was content with the routine.

The one thing she was unhappy with was the slow but steady growth of her girth. The baby seemed to know that it was safe to grow, and was now swelling her stomach like nobody's business. It was nowhere as big as some of the women she'd seen, but to Hinata, it was big enough. Her jacket, which used to hang loose around her, was being stretched taut around the middle, and it mortified her.

It was getting harder to zip up. Even now, as she squatted to tend to her herb garden, she felt the zip pressing against her stomach, threatening to give way. She'd have to give it up soon. Exhaling, she totaled up her funds and set some aside for bigger clothes. Better sooner than later.

She struggled to her feet and walked indoors. The innkeeper's wife, who was in the kitchen, exchanged smiles with her and shooed her away. The older woman had been a valuable source of advice in place of Hinata's late mother regarding her pregnancy and life in general. Together, they were almost a surrogate family: a husband and wife with their son and daughter, even if none of them looked like each other. It was the thought that counts.

Rei was in his room, lazing away during his free time. He waved when he saw her through his open door. Until now, regardless of her exasperation, he never closed that door, not even when he slept. She didn't know whether it was confidence or carelessness. She waved back at him.

"Tired?" she asked. Her voice didn't waver; Rei had smacked the habit out of her, quite literally, for a few weeks until her tongue got the message. He grinned and shook his head.

"Nah. Come, sit." He patted his bed. "So, I was thinking."

"I'm surprised," she replied. "I didn't know you think."

"You wound me, but it's a refreshing change, this. Keep it up." He was scowling, but his voice and eyes were light. She smiled.

"I learn from the best," she said. Rei was rubbing off on her. Even so, she doubted she would become the parakeet Kiba was at home.

"Shut up, you. As I said, I was thinking – and no, don't interrupt – that we could leave soon. If you want, that is." He patted his leg, which was in a crude cast. "It should come off soon."

"Leave?" Somehow, the prospect sounded foreign. The inn had become her second home. It was stable here. It was easy to relax. And the innkeeper's wife was beginning to look forward to her 'grandchild', as she had taken to calling Hinata's baby. It never failed to bother her.

Her child would never have its true father. For Hinata, who lost her mother early in life, it was a regretful fate, although she wouldn't change things.

Rei continued, oblivious to her thoughts as always. "Well, yeah, we're headed to Mizu, right?" She nodded. "Well, the monsoon season's gonna start soon, so if we don't get there before then, we'll be sopping wet, yeah?"

_Oh, yeah_. Mizu, it had almost slipped her mind. She was beginning to entertain the idea of settling down here, with the innkeeper and his wife. The thought of leaving them made her sad. But she was still too close to Konoha – that fact always pulled her back.

"When are we leaving?" she asked. "I'll need to get some supplies." _And clothes._ Were there ninja gear for pregnant kunoichi? She didn't know, and the innkeeper's wife couldn't help her, either. She was on her own.

"As soon as you're up to it, yeah. You look pretty tired."

"I'm fine," she said as she worked out what she needed to pack. Her ninja gear was fine, since she polished and oiled them from time to time. She sparred with Rei occasionally so she wasn't too rusty. Simple practice sessions, with light taps instead of full-blown kicks and punches, and no jutsu (she closed an eye to Rei's more discreet cheating in their spars). It was fun, and they taught each other new moves and kata they learned from their home villages. Rei worked around his injury easily enough.

"Well, tonight I'm gonna get this cast off me, yeah," Rei said, cracking his neck. He rotated his shoulders and stretched with a sigh. "But first I gotta do something. Watch out for me, will ya?"

"Watch out for what?" she asked, but he'd already closed his eyes in concentration. She let him be. Silence filled the room, punctuated only by their breathing. And then she felt it.

A large influx of chakra, building up against a block. Rei grimaced as he rammed his chakra through a blocked tenketsu point. Alarmed, Hinata activated her Byakugan. His chakra coils were straining, bloated where Rei's bright blue chakra was gathered. He pushed, snarled – and the tenketsu blockage gave way.

A string of curses followed its release as his chakra subsided. "Eff, that hurt like shit," he groaned, eyes still closed. The other tenketsu points remained blocked.

"Ano…."

"Hm? What?"

"You needn't do that." She strengthened her resolve. Why hadn't she thought of this before? "I'm going to try something. Just stay still, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." He leaned back, trusting her. Hinata scanned his body with her Byakugan. The blocked tenketsu shone like beacons. She unblocked them with precise bursts of chakra, something she'd been trained to do and undo since young.

"Oh yeah, that feels _good_," Rei exclaimed. "I haven't felt this free in ages!" He channeled some chakra to his hands, relishing its warmth.

"Ah, s-sorry. I don't know why I never thought of…ow!" She winced and rubbed her shoulder where he'd smacked her.

"You stuttered," he said, a bit too gleefully in her opinion. "That aside, thanks again."

She looked away. "It's nothing."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"That a bloodline limit?"

Her eyes snapped open. She jumped off the bed, Byakugan active, and watched him with wide eyes. If he was from Kumo…well, it was just her luck, really. And she had really rotten luck.

"Yes?" she said warily. He crawled to the edge of the bed and looked at her eyes, fascinated.

"I've never seen this one before…."

Not Kumo, then. She felt shaky with relief. Her Byakugan deactivated and she leaned against the wall, her adrenaline levels dipping.

"Do you have one?" she asked to distract him. She didn't want to talk about her family, not yet. Rei shook his head.

"Not really, but if I did that'd be awesome!"

Hinata mustered a wry smile. "Maybe." It depended on which perspective he took. She made her way towards the door. "I'll go pack. Will you tell Tomoko-san?"

"Yeah, I'll do it. Go on, I've not much to pack so I'll be done before you. We leave tomorrow?"

She nodded her agreement and left to pack.

Once inside her room, she exhaled and looked around.

This was it, then. Over the weeks _the_ room had become _her_ room, with little touches here and there that made it personal. A vase of violets here, a cupboard of jackets and ninja clothes there…she sighed and massaged away the pangs in her heart. Uprooting herself was not something she looked forward to doing.

The room was easy to clear of her personal belongings. In the end, her ninja life dictated her: everything she needed was stacked in one place, while negligible things were free to scatter. It made for easy escapes during emergencies, and she never forgot it.

She hauled her backpack next to the door, then went downstairs. Rei had informed Tomoko-san and her husband. The three of them were seated at one of the dining tables. They all turned to look at her when she came down.

"Leaving tomorrow, are ya?" the innkeeper said. His moustache twitched as though he had more to say, but he kept silent. Hinata nodded.

"Thank you for everything." She bowed. "We are indebted to you."

"Indebted, my ass!" She flinched at the innkeeper's crass language, although she knew that was the way he spoke. "You worked fair for your room and food, you owe us nothin'," he continued gruffly. Hinata went over to him and touched his arm.

"You've helped me more than you know," she murmured. Beside the innkeeper, Tomoko-san gave her a half-hearted grin.

"Let us pack you some food before you leave," the woman said, taking her hand.

"I'd be grateful, thank you," Hinata said. She looked towards the backyard, beyond the kitchen flap. "I'll clear your backyard before we go."

The innkeeper's wife waved her hand in dismissal. "Those herbs are useful," she said. "Take as much as you need, and I'll tend to 'em in my free time." She paused, her words stuck in her throat. "You can come take 'em anytime," she finished.

Oh, how happy she would have been if her parents were like this…but still, they did love her, so she let it slide. She squeezed Tomoko's hand. Rei, who had been fidgeting in his seat, got up to leave.

"I'll, uh, go pack," he told them, glaring at Hinata to dare her to contradict him. She didn't. Once Rei was out of sight, Tomoko pulled Hinata towards her for a hug.

"Will you be all right?" she asked. Her hand came to rest on Hinata's stomach, visible underneath her jacket. The innkeeper looked away. He had known for some time.

Hinata laid her own hand over Tomoko's wrinkly one. "I'll be fine," she said. "Rei-san's with me."

"That brat dunno two cents about dealing with this, child," she scoffed, then she sobered, seeing that Hinata would not change her mind. "Come over to my room tonight," she said at last. "I'll give you a run-down so you know what to do when the time comes."

She couldn't help it. Tears pricked her eyes and she leaned into the older woman. Tomoko pressed her head to her bosom and ruffled her hair. Neither noticed the innkeeper leaving to close the doors of his inn.

When she'd calmed down, Tomoko wiped away her tears and sent her upstairs, with a reminder to meet her at night. Hinata searched for Rei. She found him scoring his leg cast with a kunai, preparing to slice it open. She barged into his room in alarm.

"Wait, Rei-san!" He started and lost his grip on the kunai, but he caught it well.

"Shit! That scared me, yeah," he said. "I was just gonna cut this thing off, you know?"

"I know." She took the kunai from him and sat at his bedside. "You'll hurt yourself if it's too deep. May I?"

At his nod, she activated her Byakugan and traced the path of the kunai with her enhanced sight, cutting right to the edge of the cast without breaking his skin. When she was done, the cast fell apart in halves.

"All done," she said, then backed away when Rei peered at her eyes. The veins around her Byakugan bulged.

"They're very interesting," he told her, and he meant it. She deactivated her Byakugan wordlessly.

"It's not a freak show," she said at his door. She didn't see his confused grin as she left for Tomoko's room.

"But I never said that! Oi, woman!"

She ignored him, even though she felt guilty for doing so. Rei sucked at people skills, and she knew that, but sometimes he got onto her nerves. She knocked on Tomoko's room and entered when she heard Tomoko's reply.

Tonight would be a long, educational, embarrassing night. Tomorrow, she would go.

...

'Tomorrow' came too soon. Hinata found herself downstairs, an hour before the typical patrons of the inn arrived for breakfast, with a backpack fuller than it was when she first came, thanks to her shopping the day before. Rei stumbled down soon enough with a smaller backpack of his own.

Tomoko pushed a sling bag of food into Hinata's hands. "Mostly hard foods and fruits that won't spoil so fast," she said. Hinata nodded her thanks, too choked up to speak.

"That for us?" Rei said appreciatively. "Thanks, oba-san."

"It's nothing," the innkeeper said as he unlocked the main door. Sunlight peeked in through the cracks. "You're good kids. Good luck, you two."

"Will do, oji-san," they chorused. They slung their backpacks over their shoulders and prepared to leave.

"Hinata-chan!" Tomoko called. Hinata stopped and turn round.

"Yes, Tomoko-san?"

The woman looked at Rei with determination. "Stick with him," she said, disregarding Hinata's shushing gestures. "He can help you with the baby when it comes."

"Tomoko-san!" she cried in horror. Beside her, Rei cocked his head to the side as his inner gears worked. And clicked.

"Wait a minute." He blinked. "You're pregnant?"

- Chapter 2: End.

Special thanks to **The Lost Canuck, XxAshishxX, .92372446, Marina Rose, Duesal10, **and** dacymarie **for reviewing!

Been away for Chinese New Year and uni stuff, but I'm back now and hopefully to stay.

See you next chapter! As usual, feedback will be greatly appreciated.


	5. 4: An Unfortunate Encounter

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter 4: An Unfortunate Encounter

_"Wait a minute." He blinked. "You're pregnant?"_

The innkeeper and his wife face-palmed. Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously. "Ah, yes?"

He wolf-whistled and looked down. "How far along are you?"

"Ano…past seven, I think…."

"Awesome. May I?" Without waiting for a reply, he stepped up to her and felt her stomach. Hinata, by now used to his abrupt violations of her personal space, just stiffened.

"Cool," he murmured, entranced. "I thought you were just getting fat, Hinata-chan!"

The innkeeper's wife smacked him on the head as Hinata blushed furiously.

"That's not what you tell a pregnant lady, you idiot!" the woman snapped, brandishing her morning newspaper. "You congratulate her!"

"Ahh, congratulations, congratulations!" Rei wailed, hiding behind Hinata, who stood stock-still, stuck between laughing and scolding.

"Ah, thanks?" Her body shook with laughter. He was too funny.

"Darn right! What on earth did your mother teach you!" the innkeeper's wife fumed.

"Ahaha…well… hey hey I'm sorry, all right! Stop hitting me!"

"You deserve it," she said. "No man hides behind a woman like that! But I'll let it slide this time," she continued, seeing Hinata's reddened face. "Go on now, before people start comin'."

"Come visit sometime," the innkeeper interjected. "The door's always open for ya."

Hinata and Rei smiled. "Thanks," they both said. They left the couple waving behind them at a slow walk.

….

Rei waited until they reached the outskirts of the village before he confronted her.

"You never told me!" He burst out. "What if I'd punched you right _there_ when we sparred, huh? You wanna die?"

"I was careful," she said, suppressing a smile. Sure, she was afraid at first, but a rusty kunoichi was no kunoichi at all, and she'd rather keep her skills sharp for when she needed them. She wouldn't have protection forever. So she took the risk with her eyes peeled.

"But still!" He exhaled. "Are you serious?"

"About Mizu?" Now that she had nowhere to go… "Yes."

"You better tell me when you're tired, yeah," he grumbled. "Hey." She looked at him. "Did you…want to stay there till…you know?"

"Maybe." She breathed in the salty air, which she'd gotten used to. "No. Let's go."

"You really, really sure?"

"Rei-san!" she said, exasperated. Doubt was the last thing she needed. The path out of the village lay before them, lined with trees for shade. She jumped up and started darting through the trees.

"Let's go!" she said over the rush of the wind. Ah, it felt so good. She'd missed this feeling. Nice as the couple were, they treated her as an invalid sometimes, so she didn't do many ninja-like stunts besides her secret spars with Rei. She'd seen pregnant kunoichi on duty before, so it should be all right.

Rei's chakra flared into action behind her. She noted with amusement that he was wasting a lot of chakra. Poor chakra control? She slowed down for him to catch up, until they were running side by side on adjacent trees.

She grimaced when pain shot down her abdomen and stopped, waiting for it to subside. When it did, she opened her eyes to see Rei looking worriedly at her; he'd backtracked when he realised he'd left her behind.

"Oi, you okay? I don't know much about pregnant people but are you fit to travel with…this?" He pointed at her stomach.

"I'm okay," she said, straightening. "It's normal. My body's just preparing for the birth." She was glad Tomoko told her about it, otherwise she would have freaked out several times over. Rei scrunched his nose.

"Ew, spare me the details, please."

"You asked," she retorted with a smile. Okay, so running far was out of the question. It disappointed her.

"We should walk, yeah," Rei suggested worriedly. She looked up to protest, then sighed.

"I'll slow you down," she said.

"I'm in no hurry. Tomoko-san will kill me if I let anything happen to you, yeah." He shuddered. "She's scary."

Hinata giggled. "She's not that bad." She followed Rei and jumped down onto the traveler-worn path below.

"If we walk all the way, we'll reach Mizu's borders in about a week," he said, squinting at the horizon. "And you–" he poked her "–you better tell me when you're tired, yeah!"

She giggled some more. It was good to be free.

….

He was true to his word. Whenever Hinata lagged behind, they stopped, and if it was close to nightfall they made camp. She found it weird: it contradicted her shinobi knowledge to stay still at night. They took turns keeping watch as the other slept, much to Rei's consternation. He wanted to let her sleep.

"I am not a doll," she had snapped once. Then her eyes widened and she apologised profusely, but the message got across: he was to treat her as an equal.

Walking did take a lot longer. Running would have gotten them to the border in two days flat. As it stood, Rei's prediction was right. The monsoon season was approaching, and with it, torrential rains every evening, like clockwork. It put quite a dent in their schedule. A week had passed, and Rei estimated they still had three days' journey to go if they stopped every time it rained.

"But then again, we're in no hurry, yeah," he said, shrugging.

They sat huddled in a cave as the rain roared outside. Their newest shelter was large enough for both of them to lie down and sleep and then some, for which Hinata was grateful. She nibbled at an apple and passed another to Rei, staring at the rain.

It fell in sheets, intensifying whenever wind blew by. She finished her apple and set the core aside, preparing to sleep. She'd just snuggled into her sleeping bag when Rei broke the silence.

"You've been having nightmares," he said. From his face she should see that he'd been trying to tell her for a while. She hid her cheeks behind her sleeping bag.

"I-I have?"

For once, he didn't smack her. "Do you…y'know, wanna talk?"

Did she? A familiar phantom ache spread through her body, and she shivered.

"It's nothing," she mumbled. She rolled over. Behind her, she heard Rei rustling around as he prepared his sleeping bag, then he laid down to sleep. The rustling stopped. His breathing deepened soon after.

She tried to sleep. She tried counting sheep. She tried imagining her dreams. She tried listening to the rain until she sat up, annoyed.

She couldn't sleep. And it was all Rei's fault. Deep inside, though, she didn't blame him. He really was worried, she could tell. It had been troubling him for days. He just didn't know how to speak up.

She sighed and hugged her knees. Who was she to talk about speaking up?

"It was a mission," she murmured, eyes downcast. A quick check confirmed that Rei was still fast asleep. It was safe.

"I was with my t-team. Border patrol, scouting." Her breath hitched.

"Then we were ambushed. Everything happened s-so fast, we didn't know who they w-were. We just fought." Tears welled up and she brushed them away.

"We lost. A-all of us fainted, I think. Kiba-kun w-woke me up. S-Shino-kun was still unconscious." She trembled. Her fingers were white from gripping her knees so tightly. "I h-hurt. Everywhere. Even…down there.

"Ki-Kiba-kun said we were o-only down for f-five minutes. There was b-blood everywhere, all of u-us were i-injured. S-so I thought n-nothing about it."

She was crying now, biting her lips to make it soundless. She rocked a little where she sat, hoping for comfort and receiving none. Rain continued to pour outside.

"That was the only time I f-fainted on a mission. It had to be that one. It h-had to."

She hiccupped quietly. Rei didn't move. Spent, she crawled into her sleeping bag and fell into a tired sleep.

She didn't know that Rei's eyes were open the whole time.

….

The next morning found her sopping wet in inch-deep rainwater. She turned, inhaled some water, and woke up snorting and choking, surprised.

"That's not very lady-like, yeah," Rei observed to her right. Hinata glared at him and turned her back to him to get the water out of her nose. Unlike her, he was dry except for his shoes, which had water marks. It was so unfair.

"You didn't wake me up," she accused. She rubbed her nose one last time. The rain had stopped sometime in the night, but it had been heavy enough that the low-lying area they were in was flooded. And she'd slept right through it!

Something unreadable flickered behind Rei's eyes. "I thought I'd let the princess wake up on her own, yeah," he teased, grinning. "Took you a while!"

She huffed, wondering at the queer lightness in her chest. Her confession last night must've helped, even if no one heard her. Perhaps it was better that way. It was all suspicion and no proof, after all.

A quick Suiton jutsu dried her waterlogged things. "Darn useful, that," Rei commented while she worked. "Teach me?"

She hesitated. Could she teach a jutsu to an outsider? She looked at her hands. The jutsu wasn't originally Konoha's to begin with….

"Okay," she said. She showed him the sequence of hand signs, and he mimicked her until he got it right, then poured chakra into it. A pitiful wisp of steam wormed out of his wet shoe. Rei stared at it in disbelief.

"Keep trying," Hinata said. She turned to retrieve their food pack.

They made a quick meal of apples and pears before they packed and left. The ground was mushy and riddled with puddles from the rain, so they opted for the trees instead.

Hinata ran with a spring in her step. It was a leisurely pace, really, because Rei was paranoid about her condition and moderated their speed. It was slow enough for them to chat as they ran. Rei did most of the talking.

By some miracle, it didn't rain that day, so they made further progress than they'd dare hope. They stopped in a secure clearing after her Byakugan found no danger, winded but happy. She was about to go to sleep when she realised Rei was nowhere in sight.

"Rei?" she called. Upon getting no reply, she activated her Byakugan – and saw him preparing his sleeping bag behind a tall bush that hid him from her view. She circled the bush to find him.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Rei gave her a sheepish grin.

"That clearing's pretty small, so I'm sleeping here, yeah," he said. It was true, not that it stopped them before. Both shinobi were too used to cramped sleeping quarters on missions to worry about proximity anymore. She didn't buy his excuse.

"Are you sure?" she persisted. "We could squeeze in there."

He snorted. "Let's be comfortable tonight. There's just this bush here. We can still hear and see each other, y'know?"

"If you're sure…."

Sighing, he got out of his sleeping bag to steer her back to her side of the clearing. "I'm very sure, Hinata-chan," he said.

"Goodnight," he called to her, from the other side of the bush.

Feeling guiltily relieved, she turned round and slept. It was the best sleep she had in a while.

….

In fact, she didn't want to wake up, not even when someone shook her shoulder. That someone went away after a while, and she slipped back into slumber despite the soft crackling sounds some distance away. Then a smoky, juicy smell permeated the air. She woke up sniffing.

"Good morning, princess," Rei's teasing voice came from the fire pit he'd dug in his side of the clearing. A fawn was roasting on a spit, dismembered to make it cook faster. Hinata thumped down onto the ground beside him.

"I'm sorry I overslept," she mumbled, embarrassed. Then she caught sight of the fawn's entrails and gagged. Alarmed, Rei used a jutsu to bury the entrails underground.

"My bad, I didn't think," he said. "Feeling better?"

She gulped down her dry heaving. Fortunately, nothing forced its way out, though she was rather drained after the incident. "Y-Yeah," she gasped. "I'm sorry about that."

"No, no – let's stop apologising and eat." He handed her one of the fawn's thighs, skewered on a branch. She took it and chewed gingerly. Her stomach roiled whenever she remembered the bloody organs on the floor. In the end, they had to wrap the fawn and preserve it with seasoning for later meals. If Rei was disgruntled, he didn't show it.

As luck would have it, they passed a caravan that was heading to Mizu. It belonged to a merchant and his daughter, who was around five years old, by Hinata's estimation. Rei somehow sweet-talked the man into letting them hitch a ride. He didn't let her listen into his conversation with the man, just ushered her towards the caravan, where she met the merchant's daughter. The voices of Rei and the merchant became louder as they concluded their conversation and approached the vehicle.

"…Please take good care of us," she heard the merchant say. She raised an eyebrow.

"Rei," she called. He sauntered to her, in a way he never did before. He cocked his head in askance.

"What?"

"Is that my ninja gear?" she said, low enough for only Rei to hear. He actually had the audacity to smirk at his theft.

"Naw, it's mine," he said. She frowned at him but said nothing. Grinning at his victory, Rei checked that everything was secure in the caravan then hopped onto the driver's seat behind the horse. Hinata sneaked a glance at the merchant and his daughter beside her. The daughter, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to clamber over to her to pat her stomach. Hinata sat with her back ramrod straight, unsure what to say.

The girl satisfied her curiosity and nodded. "Hi!" she cried, grinning toothily. "And hi to baby!" she exclaimed, diving down to hug her belly. Hinata flinched.

The merchant cleared his throat. "Maya!" he chided, gesturing for his daughter to come back to him. She did so, still grinning. He held her tight as he addressed Hinata. "How far along are you?" he asked.

The question never seemed to get old. "Around seven and a half months," she replied.

"Hm. Is this your first child with your husband?"

"Wh-What!" _Rei!_ "Ah, yes.…" _No!_

"Ah, young love," he sighed. He leaned back, ruffling his daughter's hair. She giggled in his lap. "Reminds me of my wife and I." When it looked like he wasn't about to continue, Hinata picked up the conversation.

"Ano…is your wife in Mizu no Kuni?"

"Hahaha, Mizu? Yes and no, I suppose." He looked out through the caravan's sole window. "She's with my youngest child. I'd like to think that she's resting in peace."

Apprehension settled in the pit of her stomach. "Is she…okay?"

"Yeah, she's with God now." He tightened his grip on his daughter, his smile saddened. "It was so close, but in the end my soon took her with him."

Hinata bit her lip and rubbed her stomach anxiously. If she'd understood him right…his wife had died in childbirth. And if a grown woman could die, what about her?

"She'll always be with us, though, so don't look so sad," the merchant said, mistaking her feelings for pity. Hinata nodded and looked out of the window. Out in front, Rei was humming to himself, so off-key and disharmonious that it had to be random.

"Hey, your husband's a ninja, right?" Hinata bade her time. What did Rei tell him?

"Yes?" she guessed. It must have been the right answer, for the merchant relaxed.

"Then you're lucky," he said. "You ninja can heal too, right? You can be saved no matter what."

That was a huge exaggeration, but she kept the thought to herself. Civilians didn't know much about iryou-nin because they were so valuable to the ninja force that few were spared to deal with civilian injuries. Add that to the amount of blood they see from injured ninja – which could make wounds look worse than they really were – and the quick healing rate, it was no wonder they thought ninja were invincible.

It was such a pity that she could die just as easily as the man before her. Well perhaps not like a civilian, but she made for a pretty pathetic ninja. It was a well-established fact.

She smiled at him, excused herself and closed her eyes in the guise of sleep. The journey by caravan was just a little slower than running. She wondered what she would do once she arrived at Mizu.

Rei would leave, of course. She felt a little down at that; he'd grown on her over the weeks. He wasn't bad company. After he left she would be alone again. Or maybe not so alone, she amended when her baby kicked her below the ribcage. She shifted into a more comfortable position for the both of them.

Then the caravan screeched as Rei jerked the reins.

"Duck!" Rei snapped from the front. Acting on instinct, Hinata reached for her travel companions and pushed them down, protecting them with her own body.

"Status?" she called to Rei. There was no reply. Somewhere outside she could hear the sound of kunai against sword and the crackle of jutsu.

"I'm going out," she told the merchant. He tugged her back down. Hinata was so surprised that she fell on her rump.

"Are you mad?" the merchant hissed, shaking with fear. "You're pregnant! Let your husband protect us!"

Ah, so that's how he played it. Hinata took the merchant's hand and stared at him in the eyes.

"I can also fight," she told him quietly. "I will protect you. Stay inside the caravan no matter what you hear."

She crept out of the caravan and activated her Byakugan. Her heart sank. Kumo-nin, here? There were five active, all of them engaging an enraged Rei, who was throwing jutsu after jutsu at them. Three others lay dead or unconscious at his feet. Two jounin, six children. Two full cells, then. Sweat dotted her brow.

Two of the five shinobi were further away from Rei, attacking from a distance. They were within her range. Hinata narrowed her eyes and felt for her kunai pouch.

It wasn't there.

Startled, she looked down at her waist before she remembered. Rei. Of course. She exhaled and poked her head inside the caravan.

"Do you have anything sharp?" she asked the merchant. He shook his head no, then paused.

"Would needles do?" he asked. "I'm a cloth merchant, you see, so–"

"They'll do beautifully, thank you," she said hastily. She took the proffered pack of needles and slipped back outside. The five nin were still focusing on Rei.

Frowning, she singled out the two mid-range fighters as she weighed the needles in her hand. They were light, much lighter and smaller than even the surgical implements she used at the hospital. If she misaimed…she shook her head to clear away her doubt.

She must do it.

Her Byakugan picked out the major veins in their throats. They were moving around – she had to time herself. She waited.

When she saw the chance, she struck.

The two nin fell, surprised, frothing at the mouth.

Hinata grimaced. The needles were too fine to cause unconsciousness. She threw a more needles at other disabling points on their bodies. The two nin finally stopped choking and fell silent.

"You!" One of Rei's opponents yelled. He'd seen her. His eyes darted to the veins around her eyes. "_You!_" he snarled in recognition. Hinata put some distance between the caravan and herself and settled into a Jyuuken stance.

"Come," she whispered, but before she had the chance to attack, the ninja jerked and slumped. Rei stepped out from behind him, his hand gripping the kunai jammed into the ninja's heart. Gravity pulled the body down; the kunai sliced through muscle and bone as the ninja fell, dying. Bile rose in her throat as she watched him twitching in his death throes.

"You all right?" Rei asked. He was panting, but other than several superficial cuts on his face and arms, he was fine.

"Are they all…dead?" she asked him back. She quickly sealed her lips lest she vomit.

Rei went to check on the ninja. "No, this one's alive," he said, dragging a boy up by his hair. He looked no older than twelve. A rookie. "Should I kill him?"

"No," she snapped, then composed herself. "Sorry," she muttered. "I…hate killing."

Rei's eyes softened in understanding. "It's okay," he said. "There now, we're safe. You can deactivate your eyes, yeah?"

Morosely, she obeyed, staring at the unconscious genin in Rei's hand.

"Let him go," she said. To the merchant and his daughter, she said, "It's safe now. Let's leave." She stepped into the caravan without a word. Rei watched her go before he reclaimed his place at the front.

Inside, the merchant was still shell-shocked. His daughter felt no such thing.

"Nee-san, you were awesome!" she exclaimed. "You just took the needles and like that – and that – and – whoa!" She flailed, losing her balance when the caravan creaked into motion. Hinata caught her by reflex.

"I-It's not that great, really," she told her, but the girl was having none of that. She looked at Hinata, awestruck.

"When I grow up, I wanna be a ninja like you," she said firmly. Hinata wanted to cry.

"Don't," she said. The death, the pain, the failures…. "Don't be like me."

"I will!" Maya insisted. "And then I'll save everyone, too!"

Hinata patted her on the head and closed her eyes, remembering the days when a happy-go-lucky blond boy used to say the same thing.

- Chapter 4: End.

I'm changing the line breaks to ellipses, looks less abrupt this way.

Special thanks to **Marina Rose, The Lost Canuck, wicked ashes,** and** Duesal10 **for reviewing the previous chapter!

As usual, feedback will be greatly appreciated.


	6. 5: The Bridge

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter 5: The Bridge

Adrenaline trickled out of her body throughout the rest of their bumpy journey to the village. She might have dozed off at one point, with the little girl snuggled next to her, using her stomach as a pillow. The baby didn't like that. It kicked and pushed insistently at the pressing weight outside its home, but the girl, deep in child's sleep, didn't budge. Her spine was beginning to tingle from the prolonged stillness. Hinata bit the inside of her cheek and bore the discomfort in silence.

She couldn't have been more thankful when the caravan crawled to a stop and Rei conversed with the guards on duty. The merchant, awakened by the sound, poked his head out to speak. She breathed through the pain and kept her ears open to follow the conversation. Her heart stopped when the guard wondered about their lack of hitai-ate. '_Mersonries_', Rei hastily assured him. She was pretty sure the merchant's opinion of Rei dropped when he heard the mispronunciation.

She'd become a common thug. It was a rough word, but that was all she was now: without a village, she was a mercenary, although she retained her ninja skills and secretly kept her hitai-ate in her pocket. Oh, how far she'd fallen! What would okaa-san think if she could see her now?

But this probably wouldn't be happening if she were here, she thought. She could have stayed at home...and died from the shame, probably. She couldn't handle pressure well. Finally, thankfully, Maya shifted in her sleep and dropped onto her lap. Hinata took the chance to stretch and massage her very sore back and stomach. Her baby gave another indignant kick.

"I'm sorry about Maya," the merchant said, breaking the silence in the caravan. "You know how children are - they sleep like logs, anywhere and anyhow they want." He moved to take Maya away.

"Ah, it's okay, I don't want to wake her," Hinata said, but the man chuckled and lifted his daughter up into his own lap, her head nestling on his chest. He grinned at her.

"Told you, they sleep like logs."

Feeling cheated for the hours of needless suffering, she smiled and nodded. The caravan jerked into motion. Frames of wooden houses and shops reeled by the window of the caravan, allowing Hinata a glimpse of the village that she would likely call home when they left the merchant.

To her surprise, they trundled right through the village and left it behind them. "Ano, where are we headed?" she asked the merchant, embarrassed that she didn't think to ask earlier.

"Oh, I'm going to Wave Country. I've some business with their village leader, then Maya and I will head back home." He patted his daughers's head fondly.

Wave Country. She rolled the name on her tongue, contemplating their destination. She hadn't been there before, though she knew Naruto had, on his first C-class mission. She couldn't remember the exact details despite the number of times she'd overheard him bragging about it to anyone who would listen. Something about an A-class missing-nin, a young boy...and something else. She combed her memory to no avail.

Naruto had been gone two weeks on that mission. She knew that, because on top of the A-class mission pay he'd been given extra for the extended period, which he splurged on ramen for weeks. However, the extension was partly due to the injuries of their jounin leader, Hatake Kakashi, and also due to their waiting out of the enemies. She calculated the relative distance from Konoha by ninja travel.

Four days. Her eyes snapped open in dismay. It was too close. As much as she felt like reprimanding Rei, she couldn't do it. He probably changed his destination out of concern for her and intended to backtrack once they were in Wave. How could she scold him for that?

Maybe, just maybe, four days' distance was far enough. Or at least near enough to Konoha to be overlooked. She'd known ninja in disgrace to run much, much farther away from their home village. She would have done the same if not for several turns of events. Despite her fear, Neji had yet to find her. The thought had to have some merit.

She'd travelled east for nothing. Now they were heading south, circling forests and villages ringing Konoha, to the port that would ferry them to Wave. It would take them a week, maybe more, if the daily rain didn't let up. It wouldn't, since it was almost monsoon season. The coastline felt it more acutely than Konoha which was far inland.

Like most escort missions she'd been on, they travelled by day and rested by night, taking turns to guard the caravan. It felt as though Rei was avoiding her, because although she went out of her way to try catch him, he eluded her by a hair. She finally caught him on the fourth night by inviting herself to his hunting excursion (the merchant thought she was going to take a bath). He ran fast, but she caught up to him, since he had to slow down or risk scaring the animals away. He faced her slowly when she called his name.

A stitch in her side flared in pain, but she pressed a fist to it in favour of confronting Rei.

"Why did you accept this mission?" she asked him quietly. "It's far from your destination."

He hesitated. Her lowered eyes focused on him, reproachful. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Mizu is no place for a mother with child," he muttered. His gaze slipped downwards. "The ninja village, maybe yes. But not the place I was headed."

"I don't mind." Though she had no idea about the apparent inappropriateness of the place, according to Rei's judgement.

"It's not right!" He glared at her, then sighed, frustrated. "Look, I know I'm no goody-two-shoes, but do you really think I can leave a girl in the middle of nowhere while I go back home?"

She frowned at the hitch before 'home', but let it slide. "I could have moved on after you left."

"And I'll go back guilt-free," Rei said sarcastically. Hinata said nothing. His words stung. Seeing her muted expression, he turned to look at the sky.

"Please, let me see you safely into Wave, yeah?" he said, just as quietly as her. "Himiko-san will kill me if I do anything less."

A short breath of laughter escaped her, cutting through the tension despite herself. "Himiko-san is far away," she reminded him.

"Yeah, well, I don't wanna know how far her reach will be if she gets angry," he replied, eyes twinkling. Just like that, they fell back to familiar camaraderie, shoulders relaxing as they admired the starry dusk. Hinata lowered herself slowly to the ground.

"Hinata?" He sounded worried, she thought hazily. "Oi, Hinata!"

"I - I'm fine," she managed. The loss of adrenaline was getting to her, that's all. The stitch in her side grew more pronounced. The world was beginning to whirl. A cool hand thrust aside her bangs to feel her forehead.

"Shit, you're burning up," Rei muttered. She felt her neck.

"I'm fine," she insisted. There was no way she would admit she'd expended too much energy, too fast, for her chase. Rei'd kill her. When he continued to look doubtful, she added: "It's temporary. It'll go down soon."

"Really."

"Yes, really." She gestured at the woods. "I'll be all right by the time you're done. I'll wait here." Her legs didn't feel like they could support her, anyway.

"If you're sure..."

"_Yes_," she all but hissed, distracted by the throbbing, fading pain in her side. "Just go."

He left.

Hinata heaved a sigh. She crawled to the nearest tree to rest against it, her head spinning. She should climb the tree. For safety. And a vantage point. But instead, she fell into an exhausted sleep until Rei returned and woke her up. Rabbits dangled from ninja wire at the end of his makeshift pole.

Together, they made their way back to camp, slowing down whenever Hinata became too dizzy to run. Guilt plagued her. What if the merchant came to harm because she'd left? What if Aya died because of her selfishness? Hinata stumbled, and Rei caught her, swearing under his breath.

"I'm s-sorry," she whispered, ashamed.

"Don't stutter," he said automatically, then his voice softened. "I'm sorry too. I guess I should have told you my plan, yeah?"

No kidding. They could have avoided this mess. "No, it's okay," she said. "I never told you my plans either."

Both ignored the awkward yet comforting silence that surrounded them until they reached the camp. Hinata was vaguely aware of helping to prepare dinner and eating a token amount of rabbit meat before Rei tucked her in for the night. Which meant he carried her into the caravan and pulled a linen blanket up to her neck.

"No guard duty for you tonight," he said. She didn't reply - she was already fast asleep.

Rei stepped outside and took a deep breath, tongue flickering out to wet his lips. They were cracking despite the humid days. A lack of water, he supposed, plus their shrinking distance to the sea. He looked back at the caravan, where Hinata's blanket peeked out of the caravan door. Then he settled down in a nearby tree to assume guard duty. Near the smokeless fire, the merchant looked up and grinned at him.

What did he think Rei was doing in that caravan?

Puzzled, but not too curious, Rei just nodded. People could be so weird.

Things pretty much went back to normal the next day, after a few hiccups on Hinata's part. The merchant's constant grinning and knowing looks were lost on them both. They made good progress over the next three days despite the clockwork afternoon showers, and by the end of their week-long companionship, Hinata had her first glimpse of the sea.

It was every bit as beautiful as she expected it to be, based on descriptions by her mother when she was young. Her mother had known a fellow kunoichi who actually came from one of the coastal villages, so she was lucky enough to stay in a ninja household by the beach for a holiday. Hinata vaguely remembered the black-and-white and sepia photos that her mother showed her during her story-telling time. The real thing was better.

The plodding of the horse became a discrete _clip-clop _ as the sand path gave way to hewn stone. Here, Hinata could see the port that was once little more than a pier. Now it was bustling with life, enlarged and reinforced to cope with the heavier traffic that was demanded of it. She'd heard that Wave Country was making waves in the marine trading business – pun intended – but it was surprising to see it with her own eyes.

Further down the road, another pier jutted out from land, wider than the first. Sturdy concrete piles were just beginning crust over with molluscs. She could see tyre and wheel marks on the pier, along with the odd muddy footprint, and one or two crab shells. The wagon that had been in front of them swerved to enter this pier, where a ferry stood waiting at the end. Rei, however, bypassed the pier.

How many ways were there to get to Wave?

"Ano...aren't we taking the ferry?" she asked the merchant timidly. He shook his head.

"No, my horse doesn't like the ferry that much. We'll be crossing a bridge."

"Oh. How far is it?"

"Why, do you need to stop?" Hinata fidgeted at his kind but intrusive question because _yes_, she needed to stop for the third time that day to pee but it really, really wasn't something to be asked to her face.

"Ah, no –" she tried to say, but the merchant had already rapped the front of the caravan and yelled at Rei to stop.

"What is it now?" She heard Rei growl. The merchant yelled out a reply as Hinata got out of the caravan to find a nearby toilet. She finished her business as quickly as she could and hurried back to the caravan, where Rei sat waiting at the top step. He hopped off to return to the driver's seat when he saw her before she could say sorry. Was he annoyed? Hinata bit her lip and clambered into the caravan with an embarrassed thanks to the merchant.

Would she be spending the rest of her days like this? She couldn't imagine needing a toilet at hand so often in Konoha, and the only 'toilets' around during most missions were bushes to hide behind. The latter would be rather difficult to use for now. Beside her, Maya cooed and rubbed Hinata's swollen stomach, a new habit of hers that still creeped Hinata out whenever she did it.

The rhythmic _clip-clop_ of the horse's hooves lulled her to sleep, and she only woke up when its sound changed again, sharp and blunt. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. A great white bridge came into view, its tail end visible from the caravan window. In her half-asleep state, it blurred in and out of focus, almost like a mirage. The merchant smiled at the sight of the bridge.

"We're reaching soon," he said, gesturing at the bridge. "Once we cross this bridge we'll be in Wave Country."

"It looks new," she ventured. It wasn't possible for the pristine white concrete to stay white for long in the harsh conditions of the sea and sun. From her view it didn't even look that worn yet.

"That's because it is," he replied. "Barely two years old, if that."

Two years? Her senses tingled in warning.

The horse took its first step onto the bridge, hauling its cargo with it.

"I've no idea why it was named after a ramen topping," the merchant said, chuckling, "but welcome to the Great Naruto Bridge."

Hinata fainted.

- Chapter 5: End.

Oops, looks like the mention of her long-time crush was too much for poor Hinata-chan. Buck up, girl!

I'm working on a new fic called **Secrets**, do check it out if you have the time, pretty please!

Special thanks to **Marina Rose, Duesal10 and The Lost Canuck** for reviewing the last chapter. In (a belated) reply to **wicked ashes**'s review for Chapter 4...I admit, my weaknesses are writing action scenes. Moving the scenes, any scenes really. I'm trying to learn how to overcome that. So yeah. Please bear with me - but if I slow down too much again, stop me! The next few chapters have been written though so the changes will only take effect later.

As usual, feedback will be greatly appreciated.


	7. 6: Of Goodbyes and Startling Hellos

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter 6: Of Goodbyes and Startling Hellos

All these wake-up surprises had to grow stale sometime, Hinata thought ruefully as she opened her eyes a crack to see swaying images of the merchant, Maya and Rei cramped into the caravan with her. She closed her eyes to ride out the disorientation.

"What happened?" she rasped, dreading the answer.

"I'm not sure. I was talking to you and suddenly you fell over. Are you feeling all right?" He moved as though to check on her, glanced at Rei, and stayed his hand. Rei just stared at something behind her.

"I'm okay." A bit light-headed, sure, but otherwise fine. "I'm so sorry. What were we talking about?"

"Well…we were talking about the Great Naruto Bridge, I think."

Hinata paled. Now she remembered why she fainted – _but it's okay, it's just a name_, she convinced herself. Gradually, she got her hyperventilation under control.

"Are you hydrophobic?" Rei asked. "Because I can't think of any other reason you'd be afraid of a bridge, yeah."

She was way more afraid of Konoha's indirect association with Wave's bridge, but she wasn't telling them that. "No, not that I know of," she murmured instead. She looked down.

"I'm sorry I delayed you," she said, wringing her hands. "I hope it's not too late to cross?"

The merchant shook his head. "Right now there are no tolls because the bridge is new, so it doesn't close. I suppose we can leave tomorrow, though, if you're not up to it."

Hinata shook her head. Appointments with village leaders should be honoured for the sake of respect, if nothing else, and she didn't want to ruin the merchant's standing with the Wave. Besides, the Great Naruto Bridge was just a name. It wasn't Naruto himself.

At the door, Rei shrugged and hopped to the driver's seat. The steady _clip-clop_ of the horse restarted, the whole caravan tilting slightly due to the uphill climb. An awkward silence fell among the occupants of the caravan. Hinata busied herself staring out of the window at the sea.

She smiled a little at the open acknowledgement of Naruto's abilities here in Wave. It was something Naruto would be hard-pressed to find in Konoha; even his obvious defeat of the jinchuuriki of the one-tailed demon Shukaku didn't earn him anything more than less indifference. Unknown to her, Naruto's triumph did bring one more boon: the inflated prices of goods he bought fell somewhat, now that the 'war had ended'. Naruto conveniently forgot that the Konoha-Suna war lasted all of one day.

Wave would work, wouldn't it? If it could accept and praise the actions of a foreign child – for that was what they were, as fresh genin – then surely it could accept a single, clanless mother-to-be…right?

She hoped they could.

Her heart thumped in her chest as they neared the end of the bridge, which was unmanned. _Such low security_, a part of her whispered. _Such trust_, the other countered. She leaned closer to the window to get a better look at the place.

Wave wasn't a ninja village. The houses were the first indicators: many used straw roofs, and none of them rang with the soft buzz of wards and seals. There was also the lack of an administration tower which would serve as a vantage point for a ninja. No, Wave was a trading post, through and through, and it grew as the villagers grew.

They didn't go far past the bridge. Not ten minutes passed before the merchant told Rei to stop and dismounted from the caravan with his daughter. Hinata lagged behind them. Rei came to her side.

"We're here," he told her as the merchant knocked on a door. An old man greeted him and they exchanged small trivialities before they got down to business. Someone cleared his throat behind her. Startled, Hinata jumped back. A young boy at the brink of adolescence with mussed-up black hair and a sun-kissed face smiled up at her.

"Are you looking for my grandfather?" he asked, tugging at the elastic band of his straw hat around his neck. Hinata shook her head.

"Ah, no, we're just accompanying them." She gestured at the merchant and his daughter. "They have business with the village leader."

"Hi jiji!" the boy cried, waving his hand. Hinata's eyes widened in shock before she realised he was addressing the old man and not the merchant. Grinning, the boy stuck out his hand. "I'm Inari. You?"

"Hinata."

Rei coughed. "And this is Rei," Hinata added, embarrassed. The three of them shook hands.

"So where are you headed after this?"

Hinata paused. It was a good question. Where were they headed now that they had accompanied the merchant to Wave?

"We'll be around a while," Rei answered, ignoring her surprise. "The merchant will be moving on once he's done, though."

"Cool." The boy grinned again, and Hinata smiled back; his optimism was infectious. "Come find me if you need a place to stay, I know a few."

"Thank you," Hinata said, "that would be most helpful." She glanced at the merchant, who paused in his conversation to come towards her and Rei.

"So I suppose you'll be leaving now?" he asked them. Maya clung to his leg.

"Yeah. Thanks for the transport, by the way," Rei said. The merchant shook his head.

"You saved me from those bandits, so we're even," he said. He didn't know they were ninja, Hinata realised suddenly. The thought chilled her. If the merchant wasn't good enough to differentiate between ninja and common bandits, why were they ambushed? Wouldn't he have hired ninja early on if he had precious cargo?

So many questions, no time for answers. Troubled, she worried her lip, sneaking glances at the caravan. Would they be all right once she and Rei left?

"Thank you for everything," Hinata said, nodding. They shook hands, then the merchant retreated into the house after the old man, carrying a sobbing Maya in his arms.

Inari tugged at her hand. She gasped and followed him, Rei trailing a step behind her.

"Come on, I'll show you where to stay," he said, grinning. "You looking to rent a room at an inn or what?"

"A shopfront," Hinata blurted, then blushed. "I…was thinking I could sell some things here…" she finished lamely.

"Here?" Rei asked before he could stop himself. She silenced him with a look. Inari scratched his head.

"You don't rent shopfronts here," he told her. "If you open up a stall in the marketplace, it's free. Always has been."

"It is?" she said, surprised. "Then I guess we're only looking for rooms, then."

"Just one room," Rei said. "Nowhere too expensive, yeah." He nodded at her silent question: yes, he was leaving soon. Hinata fought the irrational urge to cry.

Inari brought them to a two-star inn, which had individual rooms but shared bathrooms and toilets. The rent was reasonable enough, so Hinata paid a week's rent in advance and went up to her room, key in hand.

"Looks okay, yeah," Rei said, eyeing the room. Hinata sighed and shut the door behind him; he still seldom closed doors.

"Yes." A beat of silence. "So you're leaving?" she asked, voice cracking.

"Well, yeah, I'm headed to Mizu, remember?"

Yes, she remembered, but the petulant, hormonal part of her blotted out the fact.

"But I –" she halted "– take care," she said miserably. Rei's eyes dimmed in understanding.

"You're gonna stay here, right?" A nod. "You'll meet new people. They can help you."

She didn't want to reveal her condition if she could help it. To her surprise, although the swell of her stomach seemed obvious to her, not everyone noticed at first sight. She was small-framed, but gifted with a pair of assets that helped pass her stomach off as a bit of unsightly fat. For that she was grateful.

Rei noticed her reluctance. "Someone has to know in case something happens," he pointed out. Hinata winced. "So tell someone, yeah?"

"Mm," she hummed, wrangling her hands. "Be – be careful, okay?"

"I will. So…until we meet again, yeah?"

She didn't think it was very likely, but she nodded, tearing. Rei smirked and clapped her back.

"I"ll be off then." And before she could say another word, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

_Shunshin_, she thought, sniffling. She set her luggage down at the foot of her bed and sat staring out of the window at the wide, open sea. She could see the port from here. People scurried all around like ants, conducting business big and small.

Her thoughts drifted to Rei despite the painful squeezing sensation it caused. Where was he headed? She didn't know, really, just that it was somewhere in Mizu. She was in Mizu, too, but the Water Country was almost as large as Fire Country. The chances of them meeting were slim to none. She wondered what would have happened if she'd followed him, then dismissed the thought. It was too selfish.

With a heavy heart, she got up and visited the marketplace to scope it out. It was haphazard, unlike Konoha's neat, wide market squares, and vendors yelled out their wares to passers-by, enticing them to buy. It was noisy and shocking, but she could get used to that. A careful search and several questions led Hinata to several unoccupied spots for a potential stall. She considered each – then paused, horrified.

She had nothing to sell!

Herbs, perhaps? Resigned, she asked for directions to the nearest woods and headed for it, hoping to find some herbs of value. Unfortunately, the village was too close to the sea for any useful, familiar plants to be found. She was close to tears by the time she flopped onto her bed in the evening. It was hopeless. At this rate she would have to move on until she found a place where she could support herself.

Or maybe not, she amended, looking out of her window. The port was still busy, glowing orange-red in the late afternoon sun. An idea hatched in her mind.

….

"So you're looking for a job."

"Yes, sir."

The warehouse owner eyed the meek-looking boy in front of him. He was small, but lithe and well-muscled. His calloused hands and rough clothes spoke of a life accustomed to hard labour. A young lad, the eldest of six siblings, one who struck out to work to help his mother with the bills, leaving his family at home in Hi no Kuni. The man nodded appraisingly.

"You'll work from 9am to 6pm with one hour's lunch break," he said. "You seem strong enough, so you can help bring cargo to and from from ships. Kise-kun will show you the ropes." He snapped his fingers at a tall, broad-shouldered young man, who grunted and nodded.

"Thank you," the boy said to his new boss. To Kise, he said, "I am Futa. Please teach me."

Kise beckoned to him and walked away, leaving Futa to scurry after him. They went up a gangplank into a ship. Men hustled in and out of the luggage cabin, carrying luggage of various sizes down to the port, where trolleys awaited. Futa stared at the practiced commotion in awe.

"Your task's simple for now," Kise said, interrupting his thoughts. He nudged the younger boy by the shoulder. "Go on, pick up that bag and carry it down."

Futa obeyed, selecting a bag that was neither too big nor too small. He hoisted it onto his shoulder and hurried after Kise, who had picked up a bag of his own. Together, they descended the gangplank and added their burden to a trolley, helped by another man. Futa smiled at him, though it faded when the man ignored him.

"Everyone's busy here," Kise said, noticing Futa's disappointment. "The boss pays well, but we must work hard in order to stay here. Don't slack off."

"I won't," Futa replied. "Shall I go up, then?"

Kise grunted. "Go on. I'll be in the ship next to this one. Come over if you need anything."

"I will. Thank you."

Kise waved him off, leaving Futa to walk up the gangplank alone. He brushed off a feeling of forlornness and started working. He really needed the job, and he didn't want to get the boot before he even earned his wages.

When evening came, Futa stumbled back to his lodgings with half of his lunch packed in his arms. His muscles were on fire and his feet were sore from the number of trips he made all over the port. Sore was an understatement. Futa was pretty sure they were swollen, too. Groaning, he set his lunch aside and pulled his shoes off to massage his feet.

God, and his was a six-day job…how was he to survive?

He spent some time massaging out the cricks in his back and neck before he pulled a towel and clothes out of his wardrobe and entered the shower. The fine spray of water drummed against his skin, a heavenly, therapeutic feeling after a day of bastardised weight-training. He sighed and relaxed, closing his eyes.

He took as long as he dared in the shower, leaving only when he heard others queuing up outside his cubicle. Towelling his hair, he smiled and greeted everyone he met, chancing a look at the window when no one was in sight. He smiled at the view.

The smell of his lunch – now dinner – wafted out the door the moment he entered his room, making his stomach growl hungrily. Futa blushed and picked up the take-out box, mouth salivating. He made quick work of the food then sat at his dressing table.

The face of a young waif looked back at him with large brown eyes. Black hair swooped in locks on his head, fringe tickling his freckled nose. He ignored it.

"_Kai_," he whispered, and the image disappeared. In its place stared a pale-faced, pale-eyed girl with midnight blue hair.

Hinata smiled tiredly at the mirror.

….

Her new job fell into a routine, yet it was anything but boring. She thought that she'd be sticking to luggage bag-carrying for the rest of her stay, but Kise waited for her by the attendance checklist each day to show her something new. By the end of a fortnight she knew all the menial tasks she was expected to do at the port.

She didn't make any friends. Kise was right: everyone was here to work, and although they were worked hard, few to none harboured ill-will towards their boss. She knew why. After all, not many bosses were considerate enough to give their workers free lunches in addition to higher-than-average wages. Only a handful would care if their workers were sick or in trouble. Kise even told her that the lunch menu varied every few weeks.

She saved half her lunch for dinner to comfortably afford her rent at the inn. It left her horribly hungry most of the day, to the point where Kise took her aside and told her to stop skimping so much.

"If you're worried about cash, talk to the boss. He might let you stay somewhere on the port, it'll save you rent money." It was what he did, too, back when he first started working with nothing more than the clothes on his back. Hinata did as he said and found herself bunking with another man in what she understood to be the former worker's quarters for the bridge-builders. Despite her initial squeamishness, she got over staying with a stranger, considering they seldom met unless it was time to sleep. Sundays he spent outside while she wandered around the village, learning its nooks and crannies.

She was close to Kise, as a junior was to a superior, but not close enough to join the rowdy gang that went for beers and girls after work. She was under-age (and not the right gender for girls, anyway) so she begged off to go back to her quarters every evening. Soon they stopped asking her.

It was much harder to conceal her true appearance now that she was sharing a room with someone else, but Hinata tried. She practiced keeping her henge on even when she slept, using a seal she bought off the black market so that she would know when the illusion failed. In the end she dyed her hair and chopped off her locks to match the hairstyle of her persona to make things easier. Just in case. Eyes weren't as noticeable as hair, and she'd made Futa almost the same height and build as her so that the casual observer wouldn't notice from a distance. It would have to do.

The small but constant drain of the henge on her chakra reserves was something she was unused to at first, and it caused her a great deal of exhaustion as her body learned to cope with her new life. At least she was practicing her skills, she thought. She purchased a jutsu scroll off the same black market as before and mastered a more advanced henge, then used that instead. A low-powered _Kai_ couldn't break it. She felt safer that way.

She visited the black market again when she received her first wages. Quite separate from the black markets of civilians, the ninja black market was also hidden underground. Its only access was through solid cliffside rock. Needless to say, you had to be a shinobi in order to enter. She found it after careful research into Gatou Corporation's shadier dealings. The civilian underground always co-existed with the ninja one, whether the former knew about it or not. She knew that much from lessons with her father.

The third time she went, she bought several sets of ninja clothes made for pregnant kunoichi, made of a stretchable material that would fit her normal, slim body after the birth of her child. The vendor didn't question why a boy was buying women's clothing; in the underworld, looks were deceiving. It was an unwritten rule here to mind your own business only. She stashed the clothes deep inside her bag.

The trips always left her nerves tingling. Hinata showered and changed into her new clothes, marveling at how well it fit her. Not that anyone else would see. She reapplied her henge and prepared for work.

The last person she expected to meet was Uchiha Itachi.

- Chapter 6: End.

Oh yes, peacetime's over. Good luck, Hinata!

Special thanks to **Marina Rose, The Lost Canuck, Duesal10,** and** aurora0914 **for reviewing the last chapter! As always, feedback will be greatly appreciated.

The next chapter of **Secrets** will be out tomorrow. Cheers!


	8. 7: Danger

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

**Warning: **This chapter hints at some 18+ things, nothing too graphically described, but do note that it may border on the T- to M-rating. Just this one chapter. Skip if you don't want to read it.

Chapter 7: Danger

She didn't see him at first. The Uchiha was petite, thin even for his frame, and was easily dwarfed by a very noticeable, very blue shark-man.

Everyone noticed the blue skin and the hissing bandaged sword and gave the two a wide berth. It was just her luck to be standing there, the closest to the freshly disembarked duo, shivering where she stood.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," she whispered, clutching hard at her illusioned appearance as Futa. Why, of all places, did they choose to be here? The shark-man swirled to eye her with a toothy grin. He had _very_ sharp teeth. Hinata gulped. "Wh-What can I d-do for – you?"

"Nothing, thank you," Itachi said, coming out from behind his partner. His straw hat hid his eyes, and his cloak his body, leaving her with nothing to read. Fear gripped her.

"T-Then I s-shall leave n-now," she managed. With a hasty bow, she backed away, leaving the two ninja to their own devices.

"Come, Kisame," Itachi said to his partner. They disappeared in a swirl of wind and cloaks. Hinata didn't care. She ran off to her room, ditching her work at the port. She'd get a black mark for this, but for once, she didn't mind. A confrontation with missing-nin was very far down her wish list.

Once inside, she bolted the door and fell onto her bed, chest heaving with pent-up breaths. What was Uchiha Itachi doing here? And who was that man – Kisame? Both radiated power, power that she didn't want to face. She was just glad they let her go.

She harboured no illusions about her paltry henge deceiving them. Itachi at least was an S-ranked ninja. She wasn't even B-ranked. She stood no chance. Oh, how she wished she were stronger!

Her door bolt began to jiggle. Hinata watched it with wide eyes and bated breath.

It jiggled some more, shuddered when the door was knocked, then dropped silent. Obscene mutterings floated through the plywood door.

"If this is your idea of fun, Futa-san, I'll have yeh know it ain't funneh." Her roommate's voice, deep and harsh, made her flinch. She hurried to unbolt the door.

"Sorry, Hana-san."

The man with the misfortune of a woman's name muttered several choice words before locking the door and kicking off his shoes. The tinkle of a belt buckle being unfastened made Hinata turn away.

"You shouldn't let your guard down, kunoichi."

A velvety voice, so soft and mesmerising. It wasn't Hana's.

Strong hands pinned her to her bed. She gasped. Itachi loomed over her, his Sharingan glowing like dull red merry-go-rounds. He stared at her. She stared back – stupidly, but she couldn't _move_ – and held her breath.

The tiniest of frowns broke the Uchiha's smooth forehead. Then, without warning, he leaned closer and placed a hand on her seemingly flat stomach. Light fingers trailed downwards. She shivered, straining against his single restraining hand.

"Illusions are useless against me, kunoichi," he said. His hand stopped just above her navel, and pushed. Hinata sucked in a pained breath, biting her lips for silence. Her henge shattered. The pressure ceased. Pure instinct made her try to headbutt Itachi – and she was rewarded with a _thunk_ and a sea of stars when it connected. Itachi drew away, his nose bleeding. His eyes glinted.

"Well," he said, with faint interest. "The mouse can fight." He nudged her legs apart, forcing them to sandwich his body. If he felt the vice grip she held him in, he gave no clue. Instead he took his time pulling her trousers down, then divested her of them in a quick move that spoke of practice. Hinata gave a plaintive cry.

"Don't – p-please, don't –"

Her words clogged up when something warm nudged against her _down there_. Itachi's Sharingan spun, locking her to her bed. He forced her legs open wider and positioned himself, keeping his eyes on her, his expression unchanging. One hand snaked up her thigh.

"W-Why–?" she whispered brokenly. Blood from Itachi's nose dripped onto her swollen stomach. He didn't care.

He moved, and she closed her eyes.

….

Kisame was waiting for him outside the door.

"You sure took your time, Uchiha," he grumbled, uncrossing his arms. He nodded at the worker's quarters, where he could pick up the sound of heavy breathing and the smell of release. "You sure you didn't break her?"

"Yes." He strode past Kisame. Not a hair was out of place. Kisame grinned.

"Didn't know you had a thing for pregnant girls, Uchiha. Who knew?" He guffawed, picking up pace behind Itachi. "So it's a fetish?"

Itachi said nothing.

"Spoil sport," Kisame muttered. They disappeared in twin _shunshin_s.

….

Hinata waited until she could no longer hear the two men before she dared to get up. She lifted her legs carefully over the moist stain of bodily fluids on her bed, cheeks aflame. Tears feel freely down her cheeks as she held her sore, throbbing stomach. She felt terrible.

Wincing, she struggled to remove all evidence of Itachi's presence, including her bedsheets. Her legs kept disobeying her: they buckled, shook, and simply refused to support her weight. She cleaned the room then dragged her ruined sheets outside and set it alight with a Katon jutsu. She watched it burn.

When it was reduced to a fine ash, she retreated into the toilet, determined to scrub off all traces of the incident. Her soiled clothes she dropped in a corner to be washed – they were too expensive to discard – while she backed heavily onto a stool she'd left in the toilet for her daily use. Her stomach still ached but no longer troubled her. Her thighs, on the other hand….

It was hard to pry them open wide enough, but she managed it. And stared at what she found.

Inscribed on her inner thighs in blood were messages.

_Experiment_, her left thigh read.

_Beware the red dawn_, was on her right thigh. She flushed, remembering the level of realness her act with Itachi required to fool his partner. It wasn't an act at all. Itachi didn't even bat an eyelid as he pressed closer to her, leaning on her stomach. She whimpered. He shushed her.

"Pant," he murmured softly. "He can hear us." He flashed her an image of his blue-skinned partner, and she shuddered. Itachi shifted. She felt him grow hot, and she blushed, looking away.

"I will have to ejaculate, otherwise Kisame will notice," he said, ignoring her reddening face at the intimate word. He pressed once more against her, then drew back, contemplative. "You can close your eyes, if it suits you."

Hinata snapped her eyes shut. She could feel him moving between her legs, but he wasn't touching her _there_ anymore. That was the most important thing. Her legs trembled and she fisted her sheets. She heard Itachi's breath hitch once before it evened out again.

"Done," he said. He slid away from her to enter the bathroom. Hinata squeezed her legs together so hard they started cramping. Her breaths came in harsh pants, just as Itachi told her to do. Later when she'd calmed down she would ask herself why she followed his instructions – but in the heat of the moment, it just felt right. Itachi was a very compelling man.

He came out of the toilet with damp skin and dry clothes. The look he gave her was unreadable. Hinata opened her mouth to speak, then clamped it shut. Opened it again.

"Why – how–" She looked at the stains on her sheets and blanched white.

"What, that?" The look he gave her was almost of pity. "If you don't wish to know, don't enter ANBU."

ANBU did this? Her mouth felt dry.

"Read carefully," he murmured into her ear. He tapped her leg, and she flinched. "There won't be a next time."

He straightened, reapplied her henge for her, then strode out of the room, cool as cucumber. She waited until they were gone, cleared away the evidence, and here she was, spreading her legs wide to read the bloody messages. A part of her stayed disbelieving.

Why would Itachi, S-class missing-nin and murderer of his own kin, help her? It made no sense.

She washed the blood stains gently, mindful of the aches that persisted throughout her body. Her hands were still shaking. Grimacing, she mopped off the rest of the blood then doused herself in bucketfuls of freezing water. The sensation was a welcome numbing shock.

She should get back to work. Kise would have noticed her disappearance by now, and he would be very displeased. A small twinge of guilt twisted her heart.

She no longer felt safe. It was a miracle she'd escaped Itachi with her life, and Hinata wasn't the type to press her luck. No, it was time to leave.

It didn't take long for her to pack. Before she left, she tucked a snoring Hana back onto his bed, whispering apologies. A quick check of his eyes told her he was just unconscious. She sighed in relief and left in the guise of Futa.

Half the town was abuzz with the sighting of a blue man. The number grew as she neared the port, where they were sighted the longest. She shuddered. Somehow, it felt worse when not one person mentioned Itachi. The disillusionment jutsu she cast on herself shimmered in puddles – the downside of a mid-level disillusionment. She hoped it was discreet enough.

People walked right past her, sometimes almost through her, but she avoided them and continued on her way. When she reached the edge of the land, she jumped.

Chakra-enhanced feet skidded down the inward-tapering cliff. She waited until some of the momentum wore off before she started to run forward, away from Wave. She kept a steady pace so she wouldn't over-exert herself. The rush of the waves calmed her fraying nerves. She breathed deeply the salty air, enjoying how the wind whipped past.

When she guessed that she was far enough from the village, she jumped up to land, slowing down to a walk. Plans budded in her mind, jostling for clarity. She mulled them over as she entered a grove of skinny trees that provided more shade than camouflage. She rubbed her back absently.

_What a day,_ she thought ruefully. Running into Itachi, _getting away from Itachi _– which was baffling no matter how she looked at it – and now running away from Wave Country. She was getting uprooted so many times that she was beginning to consider a nomadic life. It wouldn't be much different from what she was already doing.

But could she do it with a baby around? As much as she feared to think about it, it had to happen sometime, and soon. She was almost full term. She startled at the thought.

The wind whistled.

Whirling, she palmed a kunai and braced herself – just in time to meet the force of a sword. Her opponent grinned down at her.

_This really isn't my day_, she lamented, activating her Byakugan. The man looked at her eyes, and she shrank a step back despite herself. Had her illusion failed?

"We know who you are, Hyuuga." Her heart thumped. The man withdrew his sword and bared his teeth in the ugliest smile she'd ever seen. "Perhaps you didn't know, but running along a sea coast wearing such a low-level illusion is a very bad idea, kunoichi. What did they teach you in school?"

"A lot," she replied quietly, dropping her useless henge. This close, he was within the range of her divination. It was risky, her form imperfect. But – "_Jyuukenhou: Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!" _

Hands flashed over tenketsu points. She missed some, but she noted with a fleeting satisfaction that most strikes had hit her target. She hadn't used her family techniques in months. The ninja fell back, trembling with the effort to stand. She ended him with a quick blow to his neck and kept her Jyuuken pose, tracking the remaining nin.

They were from Kiri, she realised. She'd made a mistake in assuming her sole enemy was Kumo, who prized her family bloodline. Her kekkei genkai was precious enough to be coveted by all nations. Except for Kiri. They'd be happier killing her. Her heart sank.

She jumped backwards to avoid a wave of shuriken. A quick kunai diverted her other, long-range opponent. This was bad. Two long-range fighters against Hinata's close-range melee style meant a great disadvantage.

She couldn't even get close lest they harm her baby!

But there was a chance. If she judged by the first ninja's actions, then maybe, just maybe...

With a cry, she leaped forward, as though to attack the shuriken holder, ocular veins bulging menacingly. She let fly a kunai at the other. The surprised ninja dropped with a gurgled yell.

The remaining Kiri ninja blinked at the sound, but recovered fast enough to avoid her Jyuuken palm. She jumped back, analysing him. He would not be easy to defeat, not after witnessing his comrades' deaths. He knew now how the Byakugan worked. She took a deep breath and sank into position.

A thick fog bloomed around her. It was cold and wet, but she could still see vague shapes. Others probably couldn't. She dramatised her panic, turning around and scudding the ground to knock him off-guard. It worked. The Kiri ninja chuckled. His disembodied voice floated around her.

"How do you like the mist, Hyuuga? In here, you can't see. What use is your kekkei genkai now?" He laughed some more and prepared to strike.

"S-Shut up!" she cried, making her voice carry over to him. "I-I won't d-die!"

His hissing laughter came again. Behind her, she judged. She swerved to the left.

"Why do you w-want me?" she shot at him. "I-I'm nobody!"

"But you're not nobody." A chill settled in his voice. "You have a kekkei genkai. People like you shouldn't be allowed to...spawn."

A shuriken sliced her side. She gasped, surprised. It was too small, too fast to notice. Real panic bubbled within her.

Three kunai. One spool of wire. Useless, close-range ninjutsu.

That was all she had.

And if that wasn't enough, she would die.

- Chapter 7: End.

That was a little awkward to write. And I may have had an all-nighter or three when I wrote this chapter so it came out rather sick and sadistic. Whoa.

Special thanks to **The Lost Canuck, Radiant Celestial Aura, aurora0914, Marina Rose, cybercorpsesnake, **and **Duesal10 **for reviewing the previous chapter(s)! As usual, feedback will be greatly appreciated.

...

**NOTE:** My other fic,**Secrets, **will be on hiatus for a week or two while I sort out a few inconsistencies pointed out by **KHARAKI TAKAN**. Thanks for the help! I'll try fix them A.S.A.P. so that I can post the next chapter.

Yep, so this will be my only update this week. Sad. Until next week, then!


	9. 8: Time

**Absolution**

_She never intended to give birth to a bastard child, but she did. At least now she wouldn't be alone. Hinata-centric._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

**Warning: **I'm spoiling this chapter before it even starts, but take heed: this chapter is **M-rated** for a rather graphic (more descriptive?) birth. Skip if you don't want to read. For those who proceed, remember, this is what sleep deprivation can do to you. Super-agonising chapters. Yup.

Chapter 8: Time

She palmed two kunai, calculating. The ninja seemed to enjoy taunting her, making lame jokes about her handicap and making glancing cuts on her body, just for kicks. She bore them staunchly, learning to read the shuriken. She was getting better.

But he was getting impatient.

She cried out when he struck her – not with a shuriken, but with his actual sword and she retaliated, ramming Jyuuken at his shoulder. He kicked her away, cursing.

She couldn't stay reactive forever. Her chakra levels were pitifully low after running away from Wave and defeating two Kiri ninja. Her hands were beginning to tremble: the first sign of chakra exhaustion. The Kiri ninja knew this.

Shakily, she gauged his distance, anticipating his next move. She would have to get close to end the fight, but that meant putting herself within range of his sword. It was a very risky move. Sheer fear threatened to make her legs fail.

Could she do it? She had to, if she wanted to live. If she wanted her baby to live.

The thought strengthened her. She had to survive for the baby. The child would come from her womb to share her life with her. She would no longer be alone.

She threw away her last kunai. It clattered against a tree, a noisy sound in the shroud of mist. The Kiri ninja turned at the sound. Good.

Silently, she _shunshined_ behind him and gave a sharp, short Jyuuken palm to the heart.

The ninja froze. Then he collapsed forward, dead.

Hinata sobbed in relief and crumpled to the ground next to him. The mist dissipated with the death of its chakra source, letting her see the undamaged battleground. It was almost mocking, the way it drew the curtains on the scene: it was as though she never fought at all.

Her adrenaline seeped out of her body, pushed by waves of pain from her wounds. Shaking, she mustered enough chakra and self-control to begin using Shousen to heal, first the wound on her stomach, then deep sword hole through her left shoulder. Her arms and legs were next. The one on her face she left to heal on its own since it was shallow. Her vision wavered.

Staggering, she made her way to her second kill. He was sprawled at the foot of a tree that was his vantage point. With some difficulty, she kneeled down and tugged the kunai from his neck. Then she retrieved her remaining two kunai, and all the useable shuriken the enemy ninja had used on her. The sword she left with the corpse; it was a standard blade, and her family techniques did not work with weapons.

She stuffed them all in her weapons pouch. Her vision was blurring, making everything tilt one way then another in a horrific roller-coaster ride. Bile rose in her throat, and she vomited her lunch, to her utter dismay.

She couldn't stay here. The smell of blood would attract predators soon, and she was in no condition to fight anything or anyone else today. She tried to stand. Her legs buckled. Once, twice. In the end, she gave up and took one of the ninja's swords with its scabbard, and used that to hobble awkwardly away from the crime scene.

It was a slow, painful walk, crippled by sore muscles and uncooperative legs, but somehow she managed to make her way out and down the face of the cliff again. The sea didn't matter now that she wasn't wearing her illusion. Step by step, she stuck to the cliff, hoping to find some nook or cranny she could hide in for some time. The black market was hidden in a hole; surely there were more around?

There were. She could have cried when she found one. It wasn't as big as the black market's cave, but it curved just enough to hide her from immediate view. She could still see the entrance if she hid there. Tiredly, she made her way into the inner recess to rest. She unbuckled her uncomfortable weapons pouch from her hip and kept it nearby, then spent the next few moments blanking out. Her head spun.

She had to hide the entrance, she thought woozily. She would be helpless if anyone found her now, and a token effort was better than leaving everything to her eternal bad luck. Her chakra levels were low, just enough to create a basic disillusionment. She did it with the entrance, cloaking it in a semblance of the rocky face around it, then disillusioning it so that people wouldn't think twice about it. Hopefully. Hinata heaved a half-sigh, half-groan and gave it up as a bad job.

She stumbled back into the recess, gripping the wall for support. A sudden ripple of pain coursed through her. She gasped and fell to her knees. The sword wound on her left shoulder reopened. Hinata shivered, wheezing.

Somehow, she forced herself to crawl inside, ignoring the spikes of agony the movement caused to her shoulder. Blood soaked its way through her blouse and trickled down her arm. She leaned against the wall to try Shousen. It sputtered and died. The cave disappeared.

She couldn't take it anymore. She gripped her knees. Her vision was wavering. Pain, pain, pain, it was all she knew, wave after wave after wave, riding on her exhaustion.

She dropped to the ground and knew no more.

….

She woke up to the vestiges of pain leaving her sore body. It was already dark; Hinata could barely see anything past the jutting rock in front of her. She bit back a desperate sob. No one would find her before morning. No one knew she'd left, and no one cared. Her shoulders shook with unbidden tears.

Wind howled into the small relief in the cliff. It gave her a sharp slap of cold air that shocked her into full awareness – of a progressively painful band of pain around her stomach, and of a tight, round object bulging between her thighs. Terrified, Hinata scrambled to her knees, but fell to her side at once with a pained cry.

Something was wrong. She knew it, and she didn't know what to do.

Tears fell freely as she groaned through the pain, which peaked and peaked until she thought her stomach would burst, before it slowly receded to a strong, steady throbbing. Her frantic panting ghosted around the bluff. Hinata trembled as she switched to a squatting position, using the rocky surface as support. Slowly, very slowly, she reached down, past the lip of her trousers, and touched herself.

Her hand came away slick with blood and something thick and clear. Her heart skipped a beat. No. This wasn't happening. No, _no nono-_

She screamed and sobbed as pressure built and her stomach muscles contracted. The foreign object _down there_ burned its way down her thighs just a little more. She was in labour. She was in labour, and she had no one to help her.

Hinata was very, very afraid.

Gasping, she tried to push her trousers down. She got it down to her mid-thighs before another contraction struck and left her wanting for air. Her body seemed to know what to do: she curled up, chin on chest, against the wall as she panted through the next contraction, spreading her thighs apart as much as she could within the constraints of her trousers. The thing moved downwards, stretching her with sharp stabs of pain.

Weakly, she reached down to feel it – her baby's head. There was no denying it now. It was coming, and nothing in the world could delay its existence…not even its too young, too tired mother.

She could feel her chakra swirling and pooling within her, helping the baby, but the chakra drain proved too much. She fainted. For how long, she wasn't sure, but when she finally surfaced again, barely able to breathe, she was in the middle of a contraction, pushing with all her might. The pressure grew as she bore down. Thankfully, the baby's head came through.

_Just a little more_, she thought desperately, shivering.

She had to line the floor. Her baby had to fall onto something soft – and clean. Not raw cliffside rock. Clothes. She grit her teeth and got to work kicking her trousers off, defiantly resisting her body's natural need to expel the baby. It hurt to not push, but_ damn it_, she had to do this!

Finally, it was done. She positioned herself over her trousers, ready for the next contraction. Her trousers were dirty, but anything was better than cold, hard rock.

Grunting, she threw her head back as she bore down and let baser instincts dictate her actions. The baby barely moved. Hinata moaned in pain and fear. Was it stuck? Breeched?

Would it – would they die?

Her strength waned and she dropped to the floor, spent. A deep sense of dread filled her body. This was her punishment for being selfish, she was sure. For choosing a baby over her family. But she couldn't give it up. Not then, not now.

It couldn't die, not after all she'd been through. She loved it already. So, so much. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut and breathed. Her resolve grew.

_We've come this far. You must survive. _She bit her lip, too tired to cry out. Pushed. Failed. Her thundering heart gave one, two large thuds, then slowed. Her world was narrowing down to pinpricks, and Hinata was clawing her way out long enough to see her child through.

One more blinding push. This time, miraculously, the baby slipped out, leaving only its legs inside her weary, dying body. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't push it out. Somehow, she scrapped up enough strength to pull it out of her and onto her stomach, and waited.

It wasn't crying.

She choked back a sob. _Please be alive_, she begged. She smacked the baby's back with the last shreds of her strength.

Finally, the baby gave a single, weak wail, then quietened. Hinata struggled to make sure it breathed, but she couldn't be sure. She couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't save herself from the darkness. The pinpricks of light disappeared.

Weak from chakra exhaustion and childbirth, Hinata could only pull the silent infant to her bosom before she slipped into oblivion.

_Please be alive!_

Her plea fell on deaf ears.

- Chapter 8: End.

And here you have, ladies and gentlemen, the product of extreme sleep deprivation. Just a few more months of this then it'll be over for now. For the time being you, my dear readers, may be subject to bouts of sadistic chapters courtesy of this semi-crazy uni student. Insert bout of laughter here.

Special thanks to **The Lost Canuck, Duesal10, cybercorpsesnake, Marina Rose, Princess Arcs de Cielo, aurora0914, **and one anon for reviewing the previous chapter. Please read and review!


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